Hermione and Draco, Meant to Be?
by Cadence1
Summary: CHAPPIE 15 UP!! Draco & Hermione finish their trip and he gets another little Xmas present. Please R/R!!
1. Icy Blue Eyes and WandlessMagic

A/N- Some people were saying that I made some mistakes so I finally go around to checking them out and I redid this chapter. Added some more details stuff like that. This is my first ever fic! So go easy on me. He he. I hope you likes!

Hermione woke with a start. She lay there wondering what exactly had woken her up. Her dream she realized. Her dream.....it was....strange. It wasn't exactly a nightmare it was just weird. A pair of icy blue eyes staring straight into hers coming closer and closer. Then she woke. Those eyes seemed so familiar. She searched her head trying to figure out where she had seen them before. Hermione looked at the alarm clock. 2:35 am. 'Better get some sleep. First day of school tomorrow!' Forgetting all about her dream she lay back down to get some rest.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Hermione was awake before the sun had come up. Scuttling around her room she tried to remember if she had forgotten anything in her excitement. After throwing some spare quills and parchment into her trunk she hopped in the shower. As she washed her hair with her favorite strawberry shampoo she thought about the upcoming year. 'I can't believe that I got Headgirl. I wonder who the Headboy is. Probably Harry.' She rinsed out her hair and stepped out of the shower. She threw her now straight hair into a messy bun and put on her glasses. Over the summer her parents made her visit the eye doctor. As much as she begged they wouldn't let her get contacts. 'Ruddy things make me look even more like a bookworm.' She magicked on her make-up and got dressed.

Her parents dropped her off at the station. Waving goodbye she headed off to find Platform 9 3/4 keeping an eye out for Harry and Ron at the same time. Not seeing either of them she boarded the Hogwarts Express. She chose a compartment in the back and pulled out her journal. She was soon preoccupied in writing down her thoughts about the upcoming year. When her compartment door opened she didn't even look up. Whoever it was came in and sat down without a word. After some minutes of silence the person finally spoke.

"What are you writing in there Granger? Hermione didn't have to look up to know who it was speaking to her.

"Nothing Malfoy."

"Well obviously it's something. Never mind I don't want to know. Probably something about you and your boyfriend. Which one is it now? Potty or Weasel?" he smiled to himself. You know, you play those boys like a harp. No girl would ever do that to me."

"Actually Malfoy, I was writing about how this is my last year at Hogwarts and how much I'm gonna miss it. I was also writing about you."

"Oh great a Mudblood writing about me. No telling what sort of rubbish you put in that stupid diary of yours." Malfoy had his signature smirk on his face.

" It's not a diary, it's a journal and I'm not writing rubbish about you. Actually I was just about to write how much more mature you seem this year. That is until you open your mouth. You see, I was actually under the impression that you had hit puberty over the summer. Obviously I was wrong. And if you call me that name again I'll hex you into next year." she said

The smirk left Malfoy's face. "I hit puberty years ago. How about you Mudblo---" Next thing Malfoy knew he was flying through the air and hit the wall of the compartment. 

His face turned white and his was looking at her in astonishment. The looked changed to fear. Then back to astonishment.

"I told you not to call me that again Malfoy." Hermione walked over and helped him up. He took her hand and as he did his sleeve fell. Hermione was surprised to see there was no Dark Mark.

"You don't have the Dark Mark." She said in surprise as she thoroughly inspected his arm. He pulled it away from her.

"Not yet. How did you do that?'' he said massaging his behind.

"Do what?" she asked still thinking about him not having the dark mark.

"Throw me up against the wall of course. I didn't even see you get your wand out." He said impatiently. 

"Really Malfoy, maybe you should get your eyes checked. Some frames like mine might suit you." Even Hermione didn't know how she did it so she decided to change the subject.

"Me? Wear glasses? I don't think so." Hermione giggled. 

"What?" asked Malfoy annoyed that she was laughing at him.

"Nothing." She said watching him dust himself off. He pulled something out of his pocket and pinned it to his robes.

"YOU'RE Headboy???" shrieked Hermione.

"Yes. What did you expect Granger? I am at the top of my year." He said smugly. Hermione wanted desperately to wipe that look off his face. She knew just how to do it too.

"No you're not. I am."

"Whatever" Hermione smiled, she had clearly struck a nerve. Looking a little disgruntled, Malfoy left her alone in the compartment. She went back to her journal.

Sept. 1

'Just had a run-in with Malfoy. I can't believe he's Headboy. Sure he's got good grades but surely Dumbledore knows that he's going to be a Death Eater someday. He hasn't got the Dark Mark.....yet. He probably will soon though. It's really only a matter of time. I couldn't help notice though that Malfoy really looks nice. How can I say that? Much less write it. Though it IS true. From what I could tell he's been working out. I could probably tell better if only he would wear Muggle clothes! He stopped putting all that gunk in his hair. It looks a lot better now. What am I saying? I better stop. Though, Something funny happened just a while ago. I hexed Malfoy without a wand! That's so weird. It was probably just a fluke. I think I've read somewhere about magic without a wand. I really should talk to Harry or Ron about this. They could probably help. I wonder where they are right now.'

Hermione shut her journal and stood up. She went from compartment to compartment searching for her missing friends. She found them soon asleep in a compartment close to hers with many candy wrappers laying about. Getting a little hungry, she tried to pull a Cauldron Cake out of Ron's hand.

"Hey whadda ya think your doing?" he mumbled swatting at her hand.

"Should've known you would wake up when someone tried to steal your food. And nice to see you guys too ."

"Yea yea. Thanks for waking me up Herm. I was having such a good dream too."

"One about Cho I suppose." She smirked, Harry turned scarlet. "I have some news anyway. Something really weird just happened."

"What is it Herm?" asked Harry worriedly seeing the strange look on her face.

"Well Malfoy just called me a Mudblood and------" she was cut off by Ron's burst of anger.

"Slimy git. Where is he. I'll show him a Mudbl---"

"Easy Ron. I've already shown him." she said smiling as she remember what happened. "I told him if he called me that again then I'd hex him into next year. Well he did and I waved my arm and next thing I know he hits the wall. It scared him. Not as much as it scared me though."

"Wow. That's weird. When did you learn to do wandless-magic?" asked Harry.

"Wandless magic eh? I didn't ever learn. That's what makes it really weird. I think its just a fluke though." Hermione started to pace around the compartment. 

"Well, try to do it again. Make this Cauldron Cake hit the wall." Hermione waved and waved but what happened almost an hour ago seemed to be in fact, a fluke.

"Maybe your not waving the right way." suggested Harry.

"Or maybe your not mad enough." suggested Ron.

"Or maybe it was just a fluke like I said. Or maybe I just imagine the whole thing." suggested Hermione.

"I dunno Herm. I don't think you imagined it. You were never one to let you imagination get the best of you. And you have witnesses."

"Yea but look who that witness is. Well forget it anyway. I don't feel like talking about it anymore." Hermione was rather put out that she couldn't do it anymore. The guys were giving her a strange look. 'Oh know they think I'm looney!' she thought 'Just great. And I can't prove it to them.' She decided to change subject. "Besides we're at Hogwarts anyway." They got off the train and boarded a carriage.

"So congrats on getting Headgirl." said Harry. Ron looked away. His mother was disappointed that he didn't get Headboy.

"Thanks Harry. Did I tell you who was Headboy?" No came the reply.

"Malfoy.''

"Malfoy??? That son of a -----"

"Ron!"

"Alright alright. How did he get Headboy?''

"Well, he is second in our year" replied Hermione

"Yeah right.... I bet his father bought his badge."

"Ron, you know Dumbledore would never allow it." 

"Yea, I suppose." The carriage stopped and they climbed out. Hermione's heart swelled as she looked up at the castle.

'I can't believe this is my last year! What am I gonna do after I graduate? I can't believe I haven't even thought about it!' she started to panic. 'Calm down Hermione. Just go with the flow.

The trio sat down at their table. Dumbledore rose to make some announcements.

"First years! The forest is out of bounds. Perhaps that is why it is called the Forbidden Forest. Also there will be some exchange students coming in November. Please make them feel at home. I will not delay your rumbling stomachs any more. So feast!'' He clapped his hands and at once food appeared before them. Feeling as though she hadn't eaten in months Hermione helped herself to almost everything. After the feast was over Dumbledore stood once more.

"Perfects! Please lead your house to their rooms." Hermione said goodnight to Ron and Harry and headed off to the room that she was going to be staying at.

'I can't believe I get a room to myself. It's going to be great' 

When Dumbledore told her about the room she would be receiving she could hardly believer her luck. Although it wasn't luck that got her here. It was years of hard work. She came upon a picture of the lake. She said the password. (Fireball. A new favorite of Dumbledore's) and opened the door behind it. Sitting on the couch was none other than Draco Malfoy.


	2. Author's Note

****

ANNOTATED Authors Note-------

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. Save the plot. Harry Potter is not mine or any of the other characters for that matter. The were invented by the wonderful Mrs. J.K. Rowling. Congrats to her. A new baby is always exciting. Anywho you ppl get the picture the only thing i made up and take credit for is the plot and if it resemble anyone's else's plot that i assure you was unintentional...or however you spell it. So don't sue plzz!!!!! I don't have anything you'd really want only a poor old cat that's limping and is blind in one eye.

Please people!!!! Review....take some time out of your busy schedule! I've just spent almost 3 hours trying to post chapter 1 (That shows you how much I suck at computers) Tell me what you think of this story! Constructive critism is the only critism i take but of course if you want to tell me that I'm the best writer in the world and no one could compare....yup i suppose I can deal with that......for those who wish to flame I have a bucket of water sitting right next to me just waiting to be used. and for the low low price of 2 review ill update!!!! talk about a bargain!!! he he

Cadence


	3. Bathroom Troubles and the Exchange Progr...

A/N. I've only got one review *so far hopefully*. But since that one was a positive one I decided to update. I hope I can get some people to continue reading this story until the end! I'm trying my best and I beg you people...REVIEW!!! It means the world to me you wouldn't even believe. Anywho onto the story!!!!

Disclaimer: Plot mine everything else JK's. Song by Christina Aguilera called Beautiful. I'm sorry if the words aren't right.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione stood there for what seemed like eternity. Finally she managed to say something.

"What are you doing in here?" asked Hermione. Her confusion was mounting more and more each minute.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here?' I have as much right as you to be here." sneered Draco.

"No you don't! Get out of my room right this instant!" yelled Hermione.

"This isn't just your room, Granger. It's mine to. Both of ours if you will." said Draco.

"I won't. I'm not sharing a room with you!" exclaimed Hermione.

"You're not sharing a room with me. Well just the common room. We have separate rooms. Take a look around." said Draco gesturing with his hand how she had failed to take a good look around. "We share the bathroom too, but we can always take turns."

"Oh," said Hermione rather meekly. "sorry. But still, what is Dumbledore thinking putting making us live this close together?"

"Think you might not be able to control yourself living this close to me Granger?" he stepped closer to Hermione. "Perhaps Dumbledore wants to bring the two rival houses closer together. But you don't have to worry Granger. I would never get close to a Mudblood like you. I'll keep your hormones in check." she stood there speechless.

"Perhaps Malfoy, it would be in your best interests to remember what happened on the bus today.'' she smiled as his face turned white. She decided to ignore him for a while and look around at her new home. The common room was decorated with Gryffindor and Slytherin house colors. There was a door on the left with a picture of a snake. Below the snake in curvy, silver letters was Draco's name. A door on the right had the same except it applied to Hermione. She opened the door to her room. Inside was a large four poster bed. There was a bookcase that reached the ceiling filled with a various assortment of books. The inside the fireplace was a fire crackling merrily. Her room was decorated in red and gold. Her trunk was already there. And laying on her bed purring was---

"Crookshanks!!" she sat down beside the cat. Her bed was so comfortable. She got under the satin covers and immediately fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*Draco's POV*~

'I can't believe I'm going to have to live with her for the rest of the year. She's impossible! Wait until father hears about this. No he can't find out. He would probably make me resign as Headboy. As much as I hate to admit it i like being Headboy. I get much more respect. I guess I'll have to put up with the stupid Mudblood. Though she is a Mudblood I couldn't help notice how pretty she is. Her hair isn't bushy anymore. It's sleek and smooth. Probably soft too. And she's filled out rather nicely as well. What am I saying. She's a Mudblood. I'm a Pureblood. Those two don't mix well. Although she might be the one that has to keep my hormone in check.'

He got up from the couch and walked to his room. He pulled back his green satin covers and got underneath him. Hermione was the last thing he saw before he fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, Hermione woke early. Deciding to take a bath she headed for the bathroom. She stepped inside the room. The bathroom looked like the Perfects except it was even better. There were more knobs to try.

Hermione went around and turned on all of them. Hermione let her hair loose and stepped into the warm water. She swam to the deep end and started to sing as she washed her hair:

Everyday is so wonderful,

And suddenly, it's hard to breathe,

Now and then I get insecure,

From all the fame, I'm so ashamed,

I am beautiful, no matter what they say,

Words can't bring me down,

I am beautiful, in every single way,

Yes, words can't bring me down,

So don't you bring me down today,

The sound of clapping brought Hermione back to reality. Standing at the edge of the tub was Draco.

"Ever heard of knocking Draco?" asked Hermione

"Relax Granger. It's not like I could see anything with all those ruddy bubbles you have in there. Turn around I'm getting in." he started to unbutton his shirt.

"No your not!"

"Yes I am. I want to make it to breakfast and your taking forever. Turn around unless you want to get an eyeful."

"Like you would ever be an eyeful." Even as she said this she knew she was probably wrong. As Draco's shirt fell she could see a surprisingly tan and muscular chest. "I'm getting out anyway. So you turn around." He did and she slipped at towel around herself and headed for the door. "Next time knock." and with that she left Malfoy to his bath. By the time Malfoy had gotten out of the bath, Hermione had left for breakfast.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When the mail arrived Hermione got a message from Dumbledore:

Miss Granger,

There will be a Headpersons meeting at lunch in my office. 

Simple as that. The letter didn't even say what the meeting was about.

The time until lunch passed by quickly enough. And before she knew it she was in Professor Dumbledore's office along with Draco.

"As you know we will be having some exchange students coming in November. We have received the opportunity to send two of our students somewhere as well. But only for two weeks. Now seeing as you two are the Headgirl and boy you have been chosen to represent us. I haven't received word on where the students are coming from. But wherever they are from is where you will be spending your two weeks. You will get to meet the student before you leave since they are coming in November and you are leaving in January. That will give you time to learn about their country and language if it doesn't happen to be English. Any questions?"

"I think it is a great idea. My only regret is I have to share this wonderful experience with Malfoy." said Hermione.

"I'm only sitting right beside you." said Malfoy.

"Now now Mrs. Granger, we must all learn to work with someone we do not get along with."

"So about our living quarters----"

"Yes, they are splendid. If I do say so myself. I do hope you like your rooms." said Dumbledore.

"Yes, it is splendid. But-----"

"Great. Well I'm sorry to say that I must be off. I have another engagement to attend at this moment. We'll talk some more about the exchange program soon." He ushered them out the door with Hermione still trying to finish her sentence. She swore she saw that special twinkle in his eye as he shut the door. He had put them together on purpose. But what purpose?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another A/N....he he.... In the process of writing this chapter I got some more ideas. Hopefully those ideas will add some depth to the story so its not just a love story. (Not that there's anything wrong with those) But to me this story need to have a point. Well as close to one as I can get. Please please please read and always always review. What more do you want??? I'm on my hands and knees as I speak...well type. It means the world to me. Just one little nice...or constructive review.;

*Sushie-chan- Thanks for reviewing it made me really happy. You can ask my cat....lol....I was jumping up and down. It was looking at me *with the only eye it can see out of :(* like I was crazy. You were my first reviewer!!! I love your story and I think everyone should check it out!!


	4. Guinea Pigs and a Death Eaters Meeting

A/N-- Gosh people!! 17 reviews!!! I'm so excited that I decided to blow off a major report for English and write the next chapter. I've got plenty of time to do the report. It's due Tuesday and I'll prolly do it Monday night. hehe. I have got ALMOST everything planned out. It can change depending on if I want to go in another direction with this story. Some people talked about not getting to "lovey-dovey". Well just so you know, they will end up loving each other. But there will be some conflicts cuz i agree, there isn't much fun in being lovey-dovey. But I want to make them fall in love gradually. So don't expect them fall into each others arms in the next few chapters. Thanks to everybody that reviewed!!!!! On to the story!!!!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter-JK's. Song-Drowning Pool. Plot-Mine.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Draco entered the common room he found Hermione working on homework. It was the first time he had seen her in Muggle clothes. He hated to admit it, but he liked what he saw. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She had a hot pink tank top and black shorts.

'STOP! She's a Mudblood. Stop entertaining these silly ideas. She may be hot but she hates you. And you hate her.' he shook his head and walked to his room. It had been a really long day. Plus the fact that he was going to live with her for the rest of the year and spend two weeks with her on some stupid trip. He turned on his stereo. *I know that it shouldn't be able to work in Hogwarts. But just go with me here. Let's just pretend*

I'm tearing away,

Pieces are falling I can't seem to make them stay,

You run away,

Faster and faster you can't seem to get away,

Break!

Hope there's a reason,

For questions unanswered I just don't see everything,

Yes, I'm inside you,

Tell me how does it feel to feel like this,

Just like I do,

I don't care about anyone else but me,

I don't care about anyone

I don't care about anyone else but me,

I don't care about anyone.

"Malfoy!" Hermione was banging on his door, "Turn that noise down! I'm trying to get some work done." Malfoy chose not to answer her hoping she would go away. Instead she did the opposite.

"Get out of my room Granger!" she stopped dead in her tracks. Malfoy was laying on his bed clad in only silk green boxers. Hermione's face turned a deep red but she walked over to the stereo and turned it down.

"I'm asking you nicely. Keep your noise down." Even as she said this he walked over and turned it back up. Her face turned red again. This time because of anger. She waved her hand and the stereo hit the wall, breaking. She stood there in shock. How had she done that?

"You know Granger, sometimes you really scare me." He was in fact scared. The look on his face would have been funny if she wasn't scared herself. She ran out of the room.

"You owe me a stereo Granger!" yelled Malfoy as she ran. Hermione ran to her room and shut the door. Leaning against it and breathing hard she wondered: How am I doing magic without a wand? She knew someone that would probably know the answer to this. But she didn't think she should tell him yet. She would tell Dumbledore when the time was right.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At breakfast Draco received a message from his father:

Draco,

There will be a Death Eaters meeting tonight. Meet me in the forest tonight at 12:00. You must come. Voldemort has a special assignment for you.

Lucius Malfoy

Draco finished reading it and sat it down by his goblet. It burst into flames and all that was left was ashes. He sat there in a daze. What on earth could Voldemort want him to do? The rest of the day passed in blur. Draco didn't pay much attention in any of his classes. Not even his favorite. Astronomy. Potions was the worst. Draco's potion didn't turn out right when he added the willow root before the beetle eyes.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy. I would have expected better from you. After all you are the Headboy. Let's just hope you don't resort to melting cauldrons." Snape was staring straight at Neville who turned red. Draco continued to stir his steaming potion and didn't say anything. "Perhaps you need to learn you lesson before you get any worse. Let's see. Who can we test this on. Oh yes. Miss Granger would make a lovley guinea pig." The Slytherins laughed. Ron turned red with anger. Hermione stepped forward her face turning white. Snape handed her the potion. "Drink it" he commanded. Hermione managed to get some of the sour liquid down her throat. Nothing happened for a while but then---Poof! 

"Where did she go?" asked Ron.

"There on the floor." Parvati was pointing at the floor. There sat a white guinea pig. Draco caught a glimpse of it before it ran off.

"Catch her!" yelled someone in the class. The whole class was in chaos. People were running around bumping into each other and knocking over things.

"Don't step on her!"

"Maybe we should," said one of the Slytherins.

"STOP!" yelled Snape. The class immediately stopped running around. "Accio Hermione." The rodent came flying through the air and landed in Snape's hands.

"Change her back right now!" said Draco surprising even himself. Snape muttered some words under his breath and tapped it with his wand. Hermione changed back to normal. She sat there confused for a few moments until---

"Miss Granger, if you don't mind please get off." Hermione looked down and saw she was sitting on Snape. It was the Gryffindors turn to laugh. She stood up and tripped on Snape's robes. She stepped forward to catch herself but stepped on Snape and lost her balance again. She crashed into Draco who caught her. She stood there for a few moments in shock.

"Get off me you filthy Mudblood." sneered Draco. Everyone was laughing and Hermione felt the anger grow inside her. She waved her hand and Draco was flung against the wall once more. He was knocked unconscious. Everyone was staring at her.

"Granger! Go to the headmaster's office right now. Crabbe and Goyle take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing." said Snape still staring at her. Hermione ran out of the room and to the stone statue outside of Dumbledore's office. She ran through every type of candy she knew until it finally let her through. She stepped on to the moving staircase. Soon she was at Dumbledore's door. She knocked lightly.

"Come in." said Dumbledore. "Good afternoon Miss Granger. How are you?"

"I'm fine and you?"

"Good. Now what brings you here?"

"Well. It's a long story." she told him the story while he sat in silence.

"So it's you Miss Granger. Yes I've been wondering who it would turn out to be. I never suspected it would be you. But now that I know I'm surprised I didn't figure it out sooner."

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking. Figure what out sooner."

"Miss Granger you have a power. A special kind of power. You can do wandless magic."

"Wandless magic? What's the big deal?" asked Hermione.

"Well, wands are always reliable. You could easily lose them in a battle. Wandless magic is very advanced. You are the first person in one hundred years to have this skill. From what you said, right now you can only move things. In the future you will be able to do more."

"How much more?" asked Hermione.

"That I do not know. These powers have not been thoroughly studied. You need to learn how to control your power. I want you to practice." said Dumbledore.

"On Malfoy?" said Hermione with a hopeful look on her face.

Dumbledore chuckled. "No Miss Granger, not on Malfoy. Actually I want you to keep this a secret."

"But the whole potions class knows," said Hermione.

"I will talk to Professor Snape. He will tell the class that what happened was a result of the potion. Now don't forget to practice. After you get better I will help you as much as I can to advance. I do believe you want to visit Mr. Malfoy in the hospital wing so I will let you go. Have a good day Miss. Granger."

"Same to you." she opened the door and left.

'Did I do the right thing not telling her the whole truth yet? I don't think she could handle it yet. Besides I have plenty of time to explain it to her. But it is very important she gets better with her magic. The fate of the world rests in her hands.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione went down to the hospital wing. Draco had just then woken up.

"Hello Malfoy." she said.

"Leave me alone Granger."

"What happened to Mudblood?'' she teased.

"I got tired of you beating the crap out of me." he didn't smile as he said this but Hermione laughed.

"Well don't you think I get tired of being called names?"

"I dunno," said Draco.

"Well I do. But I am sorry that I knocked you out. Perhaps we should call a truce? You stop calling me that name and I'll stop beating the crap out of you for it."

"Whatever. Leave me alone Granger." he rolled over on his side. Hermione stood up and left.

~Later that night~

'12 o'clock. Time to go.' Draco crept out of the castle. He made it without meeting anyone on the way. He met his father in the forest. He gave Draco a mask to wear. He handed a broom to Draco. 

"Follow me." they flew for almost an hour until they reached a Portkey. They grabbed it and Draco felt himself being pulled. Before he knew it he was sprawled on the ground. He got up and looked around. There were many other people in mask. Voldemort was standing in the middle. Draco felt a wave of disgust come over him when he looked at him. The 'ceremony' started as usual and then Voldemort started to speak. It sounded like the hissing of a snake.

"My fellow Death Eaters! Welcome. I have commanded you to be here for one reason. We will soon have a new Death Eater. He is young but he will no doubt learn quick. Young Malfoy. You must earn your Dark Mark. Your task isn't hard. I simply want you to spy for us. You are sharing a living quarters with Granger right?" Lucius looked at him sharply.

"Yes,'' said Draco.

''Excellent. I need you to report any mysterious behavior she has.''

"My lord," said Draco bowing deeply. "May I ask, why must I spy on that filthy Mudblood.''

"Lucius you have raised your son well. You must spy on that filthy Mudblood because I must know if it is she who will be the downfall of me. You see there is a very powerful witch at Hogwarts right now as all the prophecies have said, who will stop me from killing Harry Potter. She will stop me in just enough time for Potter to kill me."

"But master you cannot die." said Wormtail.

"Ah you see, since I have been reborn and I haven't taken the necessary steps to prevent myself from dieing I can die."

"Well we must take those necessary steps right now master!"

"You idiot! It takes many years. I don't have that much time. We must strike while the iron is hot as the old Muggle saying goes. If we can kill the witch I have nothing to worry about. Without the witch, Potter will get hit by my spell and die. But I am still not sure if Granger is the one. That's why I want you to spy for me.''

''As you wish master." said Draco bowing again. He knew what he had to do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! I feel like I have a lot to live up to. I don't wanna let any of ya'll down.

MauiGoddess3- I'm glad you really like the story and that I made you a D/Hr shipper!!

CassieXanthe- Thank you! Draco's my favorite character too. Well after Harry. I'm definitely continuing the story. And I reviewed your story!! And I'm glad you'd wait that long!

Risquer- Thank you so much. I wrote some more. He he.

lonely whisperz- I'm glad you adore this story so much! Don't leave you hanging? Of course not. I would never do anything like that to you guys!!

Da pesky kid- I don't really like fluffiness so I'm gonna try to make it real and not sugary. But if I'm getting to fluffy tell me okay? Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Kayah- Thank you so much for saying I'm a fantastic author. This is my very first story and I was a nervous wreck when I had seen I had 17 reviews. 

kris- thanks! I'm keeping the chapters coming as fast as I can!

Breeze- I'm glad you like it so far. I luv Draco to. We all know under his dark glasses he's got a heart somewhere.

willowfairy- Thanks. I'd love to check out some of your stories. Glad I got ya hooked. The bathroom scene is one of my favs. I'd love to be Hermione then!

Kris Biggerstaff- Thanks for reviewing. I love your story and everyone should check it out. It's called Sudden Changes. 

Sushie-chan- No problem. I luved your story. It's really good. I'm excited cuz I have so many good authors reviewing my lil story. And I'm always up for suggestions. I have something planned for the exchange trip but I'm not gonna give it away. J 

snappyfish- yes I know. I wanted to do something different but I couldn't think of any other way to get them close together and making it believable. Because they hate each other and it takes a while to get them together so I wanted them in an environment that they didn't want to be in but had to be.

lesli- I'm so glad you like it!

lil-spitfire- I'm happy you like the story and don't worry I plan to keep updating asap!


	5. Hermione's Nightmare and Draco's Bed

A/N- Hey people! Again, thanks to all those who reviewed! I made a boo boo on the story yesterday in my rush to post it! When Dumbledore is talking to Hermione and he says ''Well, wands are always reliable.'' I meant it to say aren't. I just thought I would correct myself and make sure some people don't get confused. I'm so happy at how well this story is going and how you seem to like it! I'm suffering from some writer's block right now so work with me!!! I have stuff planned out but I don't know what to do until then!! On to the story then!!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. It belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling!! The plot, however belongs to me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione stood in the middle of a meadow. There were shadows surrounding her. As they came closer into focus, Hermione realized they weren't shadows at all. She was standing in a ring of masked people. Death Eaters! 

'Kill the Mudblood,' said a voice. Hermione spun around and gasped. Standing there was none other than Voldemort. She felt terror seize her and her stomach dropped. He was dueling with Harry. But Harry didn't look like he could hold out much longer. The Death Eaters were staring at her holding their wands. She looked at each of them, trying to find someone who might be willing to help her. She turned around once more and caught the gaze of a pair of icy blue eyes. These eyes were different from the ones surrounding her. These were sad. Terribly sad. They were compassionate. They were......loving. Hermione must have imagined it because a second later he yelled some words:

'Avada Kedavra,' Hermione saw a flash of green light. Her body was shaking and she screamed, 'No! Stop!'

She opened her eyes and saw the icy blue eyes again!

"Hermione! Wake up! It's only a dream!'' 

"Get off me you bastard!!! You killed me! Get away! Your a bloody Death Eater! Get off of me!" she waved her hand and he started to hover in the air.

"Granger stop!" he yelled.

"You killed me!" she waved her hand and he hit the wall and sunk to the floor. He stood up and rubbed his back.

"Granger wake up! What are you talking about? I didn't kill you. You're still alive." He walked over and sat on her bed. "It was just a dream. It's okay now."

"Why are you in here?" Hermione blushed and pulled the covers up. She had just realized she was wearing a tini-tiny peach nightgown.

"Well, you were calling my name in your sleep." said Draco.

"I was not!" said Hermione.

"Oh don't be so perverted. You weren't calling my name like THAT. You were calling my name like you were scared. You were screaming and crying. I just came in here to make sure you were all right.'' he had a look of concern that Hermione had only seen once before. And that was just before he killed her in her dream. Hermione burst into tears.

"Wha---? Why are you crying." asked Draco. He scooted closer to her and put his arm around her soft shoulders. It was a weird sensation for both of them. Her skin was so soft and she was so warm. It was weird to have Draco's arm around her. He was strong yet tender. She felt safe for a brief second. He felt cold to the touch.

'So maybe Draco has a heart after all. What the crap am I saying. He just probably trying to pull something.' thought Hermione. But she let him stay as he was.

"That dream. It was so weird. And it felt really real. You killed me. You were a Death Eater. Voldemort told them to kill me and you did.'' she sniffled. ''I don't want to die. Why did you kill me? I know you hate my guts but I didn't know you wanted to kill me." her eyes welled up again.

"Granger, I don't like you one bit. You get on my nerves. You're bossy and rude. Not to mention a perfectionist. But I don't hate you enough to kill you. I wouldn't unless I had to." he signed at the last part.

"What do you mean 'had to'? You don't have to kill me. What would ever make you have to kill me?" asked Hermione. Her face was contorted in puzzlement.

"Granger, has it ever occurred to you that maybe I don't want to be a Death Eater? That maybe I don't want to kill and torture people? That maybe my dad is making me. Just because he's in Voldemort's inner circle. I don't want to follow in my dad's footsteps. But did you ever wonder if I had any choice? Didn't you know that my future has already been decided for me?'' he asked staring straight into her eyes.

"No," said Hermione honestly.

"Well I guess that gives you something to think about." he stood up and walked off.

Hermione stayed in bed for the rest of the day, skipping all her classes and only getting up to use the restroom. She heard Draco in the next room, moving about and leaving for classes but he didn't bother her.

'Girl,' said a voice that sounded like her mother, 'you better get your lazy ass up and get to moving about! You'll never get anything done laying around all day like this. Get up right now and go do something!'

Hermione stood up and stretched. She tossed her hair up into a messy ponytail and put on some decent clothes. She look out the window. The sky was clear. It would be a perfect time to look at the stars. She headed up to the astronomy tower. The door was cracked open and she could hear a voice. She quietly climbed the last few stares and pushed open the door some more. Draco sitting in a chair looking up at the sky through the glass dome and was naming off constellations. She crept up behind him.

''There's Delphinus,'' he muttered, crossing one off his list.

''I see Draco.' she said softly. Draco jumped. ''The constellation that is. What are you doing in here?'' she asked.

"What are you doing in here?" asked Draco.

"I asked you first.'' she raised an eyebrow at him. 

He sighed. ''What does it look like I'm doing? I'm looking at the stars."

"You don't have to be an ass." said Hermione.

"Yea well, you don't have to be nosy." sneered Draco.

"Fuck you Malfoy!'' said Hermione.

"Gladly,'' he said. He grabbed Hermione and pulled her down onto his lap. She sat there for a moment while his face came closer to hers. Those icy blue eyes just kept coming closer and closer. Just like in her dream. They touched noses and Draco tilted his head. Hermione pulled back at the last second.

''What are you doing??!! That wasn't an offer!'' she stood up.

"So? You were taking it into consideration.'' he smiled.

''No I wasn't! I was in shock. Or else I would have blasted you into the wall. Which I still could do right now.'' she held her hand up in front of her. Draco smiled.

"Go ahead. Do it. I DARE you.'' Hermione wanted to wipe that look off his smug face. She waved her hand slowly. Just enough so that Draco's chair was scooting across the floor. He smiled and started to stand up. At that moment Hermione waved her hand again and the chair flew out from underneath him. He landed with a thud on his smug arse. Hermione laughed so hard she thought her gut would bust.

"That way was sooo much better than throwing you up against the wall!" she said between gulps of air. She was bent over and was clutching a stitch in her side. Draco stood up and rubbed his butt.

"Very funny, Mudblood.'' he said. Hermione stopped laughing. 

"You know if I wasn't feeling sorry for your dumbass-self. I would throw you into that wall over there. But since I'm nice....'' she waved her hand and the rug that Malfoy was standing on came out from underneath him. He was on his butt once more. And Hermione was laughing her butt off once more.

'Dumbledore was right. All the practicing I've been doing has paid off.' thought Hermione.

'Stupid Mudblood. If only she wasn't a girl and so damn hot I would beat the crap out of her. But she'll get what's coming her way once Voldemort finds out that she's the witch he wants.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That night, Hermione wasn't very sleepy. She stayed in the common room reading. Soon her eyelids began to droop and she fell asleep on the couch. Draco woke up to get a drink and found her. She was shivering. He reached over and as a joke, he put a Slytherin blanket over her. Seeing her there under the pale moonlight gave him a funny feeling in his stomach.

'I knew I shouldn't have ate that bowl of chili for supper. He ran to the bathroom. After he came back, he found Hermione gone. Figuring she had went to her bed, Draco went to his room. He got under his satin covers and rolled over…..onto something. He screamed, causing the lump in his bed to move. The lump was Hermione he realized. She screamed too:

''RAPE!!!!" she yelled. Draco swore she would've waken the dead if he hadn't covered her mouth.

"Don't scream. Just get out of my bed." he whispered. He dropped his hand from her mouth.

"What do you mean get out of your bed? You're the one in my bed trying to rape me.''

''Why would I want to rape you when I can get it somewhere else free?'' he asked. He could feel her make a face. ''Besides, how could anybody rape you with those powers of yours?''

"I guess you're right. I wasn't thinking. It's just that you're only wearing your boxers and in my bed."

"I'm not in your bed. Lumos,'' he said. His wand lit up and Hermione could see in her sleepiness she had gone to the wrong room. She also saw that Draco's boxers were green again. This time with silver snitches on them. She chuckled.

"What?'' asked Draco, bringing the wand up higher where the light flashed on his nearly naked body. Hermione could see strong arms from all those years at Quidditch. He had nicely defined abs that Hermione would love to trace with her fingers. She mentally slapped herself. 

'What am I thinking? Stop. It's Malfoy for crap's sake!' But still Hermione couldn't deny that Draco was fine. Little did Hermione know, that Draco was thinking along the same lines about her.

'Goodness, she's gorgeous! Too bad she isn't in that little nightgown of hers! She's got a hot body!' He thought about the kiss they almost shared. 'If only I had moved faster. I wonder what it would be like to kiss her? Never mind, You hate her. You hate her. Just keep saying that to yourself Draco. Maybe after a while you'll start to believe it. I don't have anything to worry about anyway. She hates me. Plus I'm only attracted to her physically. It's not like I'm in LOVE with her or something.'

Hermione stood up and left for her own room. Draco went back to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N---dun dun duh!!! Stay tuned for the next episode of: Hermione and Draco, Meant to Be?

Wadda ya think? It's gotta a ring to it doesn't it?? Lol. Anywho. In the middle of this chapter it started to get a lil fluffy so I had to bring that down a lil. Sorry fluffy fans!! lol. Thanks to all who reviewed. This chapter was short but I have TONS of homework to do so I can't do anymore tonight! I'll post more soon just probably not tomorrow cuz I have a basketball game I have to attend. Don't forget to review!!! It makes me the happiest person in the world!!! 

*~Cadence~*


	6. Prosperity and a Storm

A/N- Sorry I haven't updated it like forever! Shame on me! *I'm just glad I'm not a houseelf. Then I'd have to punish myself. And I'm not very good with self-discipline.* I'm still suffering from writer's block. Which sucks!! But I really want to post a chapter so I'm sawry if this chapter isn't very good. I'm trying my best! Trying to think of some way to get out two not yet lovebirds get thrown together........hmmmm. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione woke up late the next morning. She found a note on her nightstand from Draco. There was to be a meeting at lunch with Dumbledore. She lay there and yawned. Just as she was about to get out of bed, she decided against it. After all, she is at the top of the year. She could afford to miss some classes every once in a while. She lay back down and closed her eyes. 

*~Draco's POV~*

Draco walked into Hermione's room looking for her. It was almost time for their meeting and Ganger was still sleeping. 'She needs to be taught a lesson.' he thought. Deciding to have some fun with her, he took some toothpaste and dabbed some on her finger. Then he took his quill and tickled her face. Pretty soon she had toothpaste all over her face.

"Draco.'' Hermione mumbled. Draco lifted up his eyebrows in surprise. You could almost see the light bulb go on above his head.

''Yes, Hermione?" he asked sweetly. He desperately wanted to laugh, but stopped himself in fear of waking her.

''Don't go Draco. Stay here with me.'' Draco couldn't help it any longer. It was just too good of an opportunity.

"I won't Hermione. I'm gonna stay right here with you.'' snickering to himself, he took off his shirt, messed up his hair and crawled under the covers snuggling with her. She stirred but didn't wake. He wrapped his arms around her. She still didn't wake. He took a strand of her long hair and tickled her with it. She mumbled a little and swiped at him. He did it again. This time he got the response he was waiting for. He closed his eyes, pretending he was asleep. She opened her eyes and screamed.

'That girl has one great set of lungs.' thought Draco as he tried his best not to smile. He pretended to wake up.

"What's wrong honey? Is everything alright?'' he asked sweetly. He could only imagine how he looked right now. His hair mussed up and his shirt off. He almost cracked up again.

"What are you doing in my bed. And why don't you have any clothes on? What happened?'' she asked. Draco almost cracked a rib at the sight of Hermione's horrified face.

"I can't believe you!'' said Malfoy putting on a hurt face. "Acting like last night didn't happen. Acting like you didn't know what was going on the whole time!'' Hermione looked ready to faint.

"Last night? What are you talking about? Nothing happened!" A dawn of realization came over Hermione's face and she looked about ready to cry. "Someone must have put the Imperise on me!'' Draco began to smile and Hermione figured out the ruse.

"You buttmunch! That was the worst joke ever!" squealed Hermione. She picked up a pillow and hit him with it with enough force to knock him down on the bed.

"Buttmunch?? That's one I've never heard. And I thought the joke was pretty funny.'' he picked up a pillow and hit her with it.

"I learned that one from my cousin, she lives in America. And no, the joke wasn't funny.'' she grabbed a pillow and hit him again. He ducked and threw his pillow down and tackled Hermione. 

"Chicken peck!!!" He sat on her and started tapping her under her collarbone. She was laughing and trying to get away.

"Get off! Get off!" squealed Hermione, at that exact moment who should walk in other than Harry and Ron.

"Get off her you bastard!" yelled Ron. He pulled Draco off of Hermione who was crying from laughing so hard. Ron reared back and punched Draco in the face. Draco hit the floor with a thud and Ron jumped on top of him.

"Ron, stop!" shouted Hermione. Ron stopped in mid-punch. "We……..we were just playing around. He wasn't hurting me." explained Hermione. Ron gaped at her.

"Are you sure?" asked Harry.

"Positive," said Hermione. Ron let his arm fall to his side. Hermione offered Draco her hand, he took it reluctantly and she pulled him up off of the floor. "Are you alright?''

"Yea, I guess," said Draco rubbing his jaw. "You know, Weasel, any normal person would have said sorry."

"I'm not normal," said Ron over his shoulder as he walked off. Draco looked at his watch.

"Time for the meeting," he said shortly. He too, walked out, slamming the door behind him. Hermione sighed and got up. She dressed quickly and headed to the Headmaster's office.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm glad you could make it," said Dumbledore, smiling as he peered over his half-moon glasses at Hermione as she walked in the room. She smiled as she sat down in the chair beside Draco. She noticed Draco had a fairly large bruise on his jaw and wondered if Professor Dumbledore noticed too. If he did, he didn't mention it.

"I have received information on the exchange program. There will be four exchange students coming here. Two boys and two girls. They are in their seventh year also. Also two of them are twins. The students will arrive on November 1st. There will be a ball to welcome the students. You two must go. Be sure you have partners. You will leave January 1st. There will be another ball in honor of you. I must ask that you attend the ball together. The school you will be going to is called Prosperity. Now did I leave anything out? " asked Dumbledore as he stroked Fawkes' back. 

"That's sounds like the name of the school that my cousin goes to!" squealed Hermione. "But I'm afraid I'm not sure if that's it."

"Go together?" asked Draco incredulously. "Granger and I? Together? But sir--"

"Now now Mr. Malfoy. Calm down. You and Miss Granger are going to the ball together. As a matter of fact, it would be best if you attend both together. Now anything else?

"Yes, where is the school that we're going to?" she asked. At that exact same moment Fawkes flew over to Draco. He rested his head against Draco's chin and dropped a pearly tear onto his bruise which cleared up. Dumbledore watched this with interest.

'She's changing him. Slowly, very slowly of course. But nonetheless, Fawkes wouldn't have healed that bruise if he wasn't loyal to us.' Dumbledore was staring off into space with a funny look on his face.

"Professor Dumbledore? Sir? I asked you a question." said Hermione impatiently.

"Oh yes of course," he paused for a minute, "What was the question again?" he asked meekly. 

"Where are we going on the exchange trip?" asked Hermione. She hated to repeat herself, and here she was having to do it to the Headmaster!

"Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy, you are going to The United States of America." announced Dumbledore triumphantly. He smiled at their vacant stares and open mouth.

"REALLY? America? So that is the school that my cousin goes to! You're joshing me aren't you? Please tell me your not joshing me." *sorry but I love saying that!* 

"No, Miss Granger. I'm not 'joshing you.' I'm quite serious actually. The exchange students are coming from America and you two are going to go there." Dumbledore smiled and continued, "I expect you two to be on your best behavior. No fighting. Remember you will be representing Hogwarts. Now I do believe its time to water whatever is growing in my flower box. Off you go." he said shoving them outside the door.

"I can't believe we get to go to America! I can visit my cousin again!" said Hermione once the door was shut.

"Oh yes, it's going to be loads of fun," said Draco sarcastically. "I bet that school is full of Mudbloods too." he sneered.

"For your sake, I'm going to ignore that remark." said Hermione airily. She stuck her nose in the air and breezed by him, leaving behind a scent of strawberry. Draco breathed in deeply and wondered why he never notice that she smelt that way before. It was oddly intriguing. 

That night a storm blew in. The enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall looked worse than it had been in ages. Lightning flashed every few seconds. The thunder shook the water in everybody's goblets. Hermione went to bed early, too tired for anything else. She was lying there in the dark when she heard a timid knock on her door.

"Come in," she said, sitting up and pulling her covers tighter around her. She was wearing the peach nightgown again. Draco pushed the door open and walked in.

"Ummmmmm, Hermione? Can I sleep with you tonight?" he asked.

"Sleep with me? You most certainly will not! I'm not that kind of girl, Malfoy." said Hermione. Why would Draco be asking a stupid question like that? He should've known what the answer would be.

"I didn't mean it like that. I swear you're the most perverted person I've ever met. I just wanted to know if I could sleep in your bed.'' he said. Hermione noticed he was very nervous. He kept switching the foot he was leaning on and was playing with the white tee-shirt he had on. Hermione noted with a trace of disappointment that he wasn't wearing his usual nightclothes. 

"Why can't you sleep in your own bed?" asked Hermione. Draco sighed in exasperation.

"Because…umm…well it's sorta embarrassing."

"Oh get over it Malfoy. I won't tell anybody." Draco looked at her skeptically. But nonetheless attempted to explain.

"It's just that--" at that moment lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Draco jumped. At that moment, Hermione understood.

"Are you afraid of the storm?" she asked. Draco nodded his head, too embarrassed to say anything. He looked so scared and helpless that Hermione started to feel sorry for him. 'This is just too weird. Me feeling sorry for a Malfoy?'

"Alright. I suppose it would be alright." Draco smiled in relief, "Only for tonight though, and no funny stuff or else I'll be forced to hurt you." She pulled the covers back and Draco climbed under them gratefully.

"Hermione?" whispered Draco.

"Yea?" said Hermione groggily. 

"Thanks. I mean, for letting me stay here tonight." Hermione's eyes flew open in shock. Draco? Calling her Hermione and saying thanks? Wow when did this happen?

"Your welcome Draco." she smiled and rolled over. Draco lay there for a while staring at the back of her head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N I know I know. It took me 4ever to get this chapter out. But I've been really busy. This is the first night I've stayed home this week. Thanks to all who reviewed!! Btw I've been meaning to get around to reading and reviewing yall's stories but I haven't had time yet. Please forgive! I'm going to do it as soon as I post this chapter!

Scrabbit- Thanks for all your reviews!!! I'm glad u like my story!

narcissusmuses- thanks for reviewing! Yea Percy probably would be outraged!! hehe! But what he probably doesn't realize is that Draco's second in his year. Obviously, Draco's got everyone fooled! I guess you'll have to wait and see what Dumbledore is trying to do. Hehe I know, I'm awful. I'm hoping to get 150 reviews by….hmm…let's say chapter 15? I set my goals high!! lol

Sushie-chan- Of course ur included in the good authors! Snape? Santa Clause. Hmmm Interesting…..hehe evil idea!

Cassandra Dreamwater- thanks for the compliments!!!

CassieXanthe- Please if you don't mind. Thanks for not biting my head off! I was afraid u were gonna. Ur a really good author though. It's sorta flattering that u think my stories good enough to copy but it is sorta frustrating for someone else to get credit for my work. Thanks for understanding!

Mirei- lol!! Shhhhh!! He doesn't know that yet. Ooh new chapter??? Yaaaaaay!! Thanks for reviewing mine!!

Irish Lass- Addictive? If u say so…lol just call me caffeine. I PROMISE ill review ur story! I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to it yet but like I said I've been really busy!

Sighhhhh- Thank you so much. I'm glad you like the plot. I'm pretty anxious for them to get together soon but I really want to do it eventually. As a matter of fact I think I'm going to fast right now. 

Athena- My first constructive criticism reviewer! Thanks. I understand what you are sayin. It's hard for me though. I really need to read over my chapters before I post them. I go back and read them again and I see all these little mistakes. So thanks for your suggestions! I'm keeping them in mind.

Overprotectedgrl- lol sorry I get a little worked up about reviews. I just love them so much!! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad ur liking it so far!

Risquer-I'm glad you love it! And that you keep on reviewing!

couch-potato- Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you think it's interesting and that I'm not boring you people to sleep!


	7. The Exchange Students and Red Robes

A/N- I'm writing this even though I haven't had supper yet and Lilo and Stitch is calling my name. *I've been dying to see that movie and my sister rented it for me but I haven't got a chance to watch it yet.* Anywho....I got my first flamer....if you would call it that...really pisses me off. Listen people!!!! If you have a suggestion or CONSTRUCTIVE review, I will gladly listen to them! If you put it nicely. After I realized that it was a flamer, I didn't even bother finishing reading it until like 3 days later. anywho....I'm not sure what to do this chapter. I had some of it written but I lost it!!! Thanks to all who reviewed *nicely that is*!! But those of you who were being a bitch about my story......well forget you. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The days flew by, and before they knew it, it was time for the exchange students arrival. No one knew quite what to expect, except those who knew people from the U.S. Add that to the anticipation about the ball that evening and you would get how much the students were driving the teachers up the walls. The girls had been planning on what to wear for weeks and debating on who would ask them out. The guys spent most of their time figuring out a way to ask them out. Ron had yet to find a partner. He had asked everyone he could think of, but it seemed that everybody had dates except him. He was sitting on a sofa in the common room when Hermione and Harry walked in smiling from ear to ear. Ron started to get a little paranoid. 

'Oh no, I bet he's already asked her. I knew I shouldn't have put this off. Now I'm going to have to go to the ball alone.' Hermione and Harry walked over and sat down beside him.

"Are you okay Ron? Your looking a bit pale." asked Hermione. She reached over and placed her hand on his forehead. He brushed it away.

"Yes, fine. Never better." he said quickly. But even as he said it he knew he didn't sound like it. His voice came out all squeaky and high. He sounded as if he was going through puberty. "Harry who did you say you were going to the ball with again?" he asked trying to be sly.

"Ummmmmm..." Harry blushed. "No one yet." he glanced at Hermione, who didn't seem to notice. 

"Well, how about you Hermione?" Hermione blushed too. 

"Ummm....No one. But I think I'm gonna go get a snack from the kitchen." she stood up. The boys jumped up quickly.

"I'll go with you," they both said at the same time.

"Ummm... that's alright. I think I can get there by myself just fine." she said looking at them strangely.

"Well, can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Ron quickly. 

"Sure." Harry sat back down, defeated as Ron and Hermione walked to of the room. 

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Hermione, she stopped and faced him, which made him even more nervous.

"Well......I was wondering if you would go to the ball with me." he said looking down at the floor, blushing.

"Oh Ron. I would. But I can't." said Hermione, turning a deep shade of red. Ron looked at her sharply.

"What do you mean you can't?" he asked.

"I already have a date." Hermione looked down tracing the pattern of the carpet with her foot.

"You already have---. But you just told me and Harry that you didn't have a date."

"I lied." said Hermione in a small voice. Ron stood there for a moment taking everything in.

"Look if you want to go with someone else just say so." he said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"It's not that Ron." 

"Well what's your deal then?" he was getting angrier by the second.

"I didn't want to tell you this before....but I'm going with Malfoy." she looked up and saw that his face had turned white.

"Malfoy??? M-A-L-F-O-Y??? Draco Malfoy?? The Headboy?? The slimy git that's always calling you a Mudblood? I can't believe you Hermione." he turned around and went back into the common room. Hermione tried to yell after him so she could explain herself but it was no use. The portrait hole door slammed in her face.

'Damn you Malfoy. Always screwing up my life.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That afternoon, the students were introduced at lunch. They had arrived early that morning but had spent most of the morning getting settled in. Dumbledore stood and silence fell onto the Great Hall. Standing beside him was the four exchange students. Hermione looked each over. Standing next to Dumbledore was a pretty girl with blonde hair to about her shoulders. She looked extremely confident standing up there in front of the whole school. At least more confident than Hermione could ever be. Standing next to the girl was a boy who looked very exotic. He had black hair and looked as if to be in very good shape. Hermione couldn't help but notice that he was very cute. He looked up and caught her gaze. Hermione looked away and blushed. Next to him seemed to be the girl version of him. 'Twins' thought Hermione. The girl was very pretty. But didn't look as confident as the other girl. Behind the girl was another boy. He seemed to be staring off into space. He had brown hair and was very tall. He was also cute. Hermione snapped back to reality when Dumbledore started to speak.

"As you all know, we have received the honor of being chosen to house four exchange student from America. I expect you to show them lots of hospitality. Allow me to introduce them." he stepped back and gestured toward the blonde girl. "This lovely young lady's name is Adrian Bennett." She stepped forward and waved, beaming at the crowd. Hermione suddenly thought of Professor Lockhart. "Now, this young man's name is Landon Johnson." he, unlike Adrian, stood where he was and waved slightly." Chyler, please take a bow." she stood there looking at him trying to decided if he actually wanted her to bow. She decided against it and instead just stood there smiling. "As you can tell, Landon and Chyler are twins.'' explained Dumbledore. *btw. its pronounced Kyler. Sorta like skyler without the s.* "And last but not least is Kelsey Smith." Kelsey stood there unsure of what to do. But Dumbledore continued anyway. "Now the matter on which houses the students will be staying in. The Sorting Hat has come down with a bad case of strip throat and is unable to talk. Therefore I have let the students choose which houses they will be staying in. All four of them has chose Gryffindor. So if you will, please be seated at the Gryffindor table." The students made there way down to the table. Hermione looked around trying to see where they had chosen to sit. She couldn't help but wish that Landon would sit somewhere near her. After the students had been seated the feast started.

'This is going to be an interesting year.' thought Hermione.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione left lunch early to get ready for the ball. She took her shower and dried her hair. She had bought some new dress robes for the occasion. She just had to decide which one she wanted to wear tonight. Should she wear the white one? Or the sexy red one? The white one looked like something some mystical creature would wear. The red one was extreme and sexy. It was red until you got to the bottom where the edge of it had streaks of black.

'It will really piss Ron off if I show up looking awesome. Even though that's not a nice thing to say. But he should have listened to me. I'm just going to the dance with Draco. It doesn't mean I have to hang out with him there. But Ron needs to learn his lesson. And Landon will be there..... So, I think.......the red one.'

Hermione slipped it on over her head. It flowed down over her body and straightened out. It fitted her like a dress. It had a plunging neckline and showed off her womanly curves. Magic had obviously been used on the dress because it sparkled without anything on the fabric. Hermione grabbed her wand and magicked on some makeup to accentuate the effects of the dress. She pulled little strips of hair back and secured them with a little clip like her cousin had taught her so that she had mini cornrows. She then used her wand to sweep her hair up into a twist so that the ends of her hair was sticking up over her head. The end effect was great and Hermione knew she looked gorgeous.

'Time to go.' she thought looking at her watch. She did a last minute check-up, and walked to the common room to meet Draco. He was adjusting his robes but when Hermione stepped into the room her looked up. 

'Damn she's hot.' he thought. 'Snap out of it and stop drooling. Say something.'

"Your late," he managed to choke out.

Hermione giggled. She had noticed how he looked at her.

"Or maybe you're just early." she walked over and slid her arm into his. "Well let's get going before we miss the credits." Draco looked at her strangely. "It's a Muggle thing. Never mind." They left the common room and headed for the ball.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N- I'm gonna write the ball in the next chapter. I just don't feel up to it today and I want to at least get this chappie posted. Anywho...…

Christenza-Thanks…I guess….lol just joking.

Hasapi- glad you feel that way. J 

BluLightning- Thanks! I added some Harry in it for you. Not much but I'll give you some more soon. Also I'm thinking about writing a H/H fic! After I finish this one.

CarLene- I'm glad you like my story….Yea it is kinda hard. I have a really big imagination though.

Pikachufan4288-Thanks! Yeah I always though Pikachu was the cutest!

Gwenchy17- Sorry you don't like it and you think that it's overdone, corny, farfetched and stupid. But hey that's your problem not mine. Cuz I don't give a sh*t if you read this or not. As a matter of fact if you think that way why even bother reading this? And Draco can be afraid of a storm if I want him to cuz its MY story! It's not an excuse to get them in bed together because if I wanted them in bed together I would PUT them in bed together. Everybody has fears that nobody knows about. So who are you to tell me that he can't be scared of a storm? I don't mean to be mean. But your review has absolutely NOTHING constructive in it. 

Hiyuki*Renge- I'm sorry I ended it so soon!! Lol. I'm glad you like it. I agree with you. I've read some stories and they all seem to sorta go like this:

"You stupid Mudblood. Get anyway from me."

"You slimy git! Stop calling me that."

"I'm sorry. I never meant to offend you. It's just that its so hard to express my true feelings. But really I've loved you ever since I first saw you!"

"I love you to Draco!"

Now where is the fun in that??? Lol!

Anonymous - I never really meant for it to be fluffy but oh well at least you like it!

lil-spitfire- Yup like I said. Everybody has a fear that no one knows about. Me? Well personally I'm terrified of spiders!! You recommended this story??? aww thanks!!

Risquer- Thank you so much!!! Hooray for you for hooraying for me! J/k

Irish Lass-I don't know where I got my idea to make Draco scared of storms. I just knowed I wanted to express his venerable side. But you people seem to like it…..I'll leave it up for you to decide if he really is or not.

Clara- I'm honored to be on your fave authors list!!!!! I get what you mean about Draco being afraid of storms…. Your welcome but I should actually be thanking you for reviewing…so thanks!!!

CassieXanthe- I reviewed! I'm really starting to like your story…btw. Thanks for changing it up!

Haireyu- Thanks….Keep on going? Of course I'm like the Energizer Bunny….I keep going and going and going and going and going and going and going………

silverbunnies- I'm so glad you like the story and Draco's personality….I'm glad I sorta stand out!!!

THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED!!!!!

*~Cadence~*


	8. The Ball

A/N-Hey hey!! Good news! Friday will probably be my last day of school until after Christmas. So I'm gonna have some free time and I can get more done!!! Yay!! And I'm suffering from writer's block again. Good thing I had some stuff planned out! Thanks to all who reviewed so far!!!!!

Disclaimer- I'm not making any money off of Harry Potter and I'm not claiming him….. And the song is by Mariah Carey called Hero. And Matchbox 20 called Bent.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The ball had already started when Hermione and Draco arrived , each looking around for their own friends. Neither of them spotted one so they stayed together.

"I told you that you were gonna make us late."

"Oh get over it" she snapped, looking over her shoulder for a sign of Landon. Suddenly the lights dimmed and a song started to play. 

"Shall we dance?" asked Draco making some fancy gestures that Hermione had seen in an old movie and bowing deeply. 

"Yes we shall." she giggled slightly and took his hand and he led her to the dance floor.

There's a hero,

If you look inside your heart,

You don't have to be afraid of what you are,

There's an answer,

If you reach into your soul,

And the sorrow that you know will melt away,

And then a hero comes along,

With strength to carry on,

And you cast your fears aside,

And you know you can survive,

So when you feel like hope is gone,

Look inside you and be strong,

And you'll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you.

Hermione got lost in the moment and snuggled against him.

"Don't look now, but we have an audience." he whispered in her ear. Hermione looked up and saw Pansy standing there watching them and shooting Hermione daggers with her eyes. Hermione matched her steely gaze with her 'why don't you go crawl in a cave and die' look. Then she smiled sweetly and pulled Draco closer to her. Pansy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped opened. Then she gave Hermione one last more look and spun around flipping her hair over her shoulder. Hermione giggled evilly and caught the eye of another person. A person with bright red hair and freckles scattered across his face. Ron stood there, staring in disbelief.

Hermione? Actually enjoying herself with Malfoy? When did this happen? But damn did she look good! But she chose Malfoy over me? He spun around and flipped his hair over his shoulder *I hope I don't confuse anybody with my weird sense on humor but sorry I just couldn't resist!!* 'Well that will teach him a lesson!' thought Hermione. The song ended and they pulled apart. 

''Um, alrighty. I guess I'll see you in a little bit." said Hermione.

"Alright. I guess I'll go and talk to……Crabbe and Goyle," he said he turned around and disappeared through the crowd. Hermione watched him leave and turned around to meet her own friends. Harry was sitting with Lavender, who he had come with as a last resort. Ron was no where to be seen. Hermione noticed that Harry was looking quite good himself. He had on the same green robes as last time, but he seemed to have grown into them. There was no denying that Harry was now a very handsome young man. He glanced up and his jaw dropped. He left Lavender in the middle of a sentence and stood up to talk to her.

"Hermione! Ron was right! You look hot!" said Harry looking her over. Hermione blushed.

"Thanks, Where is Ron at by the way?'' she asked looking around for any sign of him.

"I'm not sure. He was here a minute ago but he went to look for you. He came back and told me you were looking fine tonight but then he said he had to get some fresh air." said Harry. "Why is everything alright?" he asked curiously.

"Yea. Everything's alright. I just really need to talk to him about something. I'm gonna go find him. I'll talk to you later." she gave him a quick hug and whispered to him "By the way you look really good tonight." he smiled and she walked off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione walked outside to the decorated gardens pulling her cloak closer to her. She walked down the paths and marveled at the decorations. The hedges and bushes had little, golden flames that flickered as they sat on the branches. Winter had come early so the water coming out of the fountains was frozen and in some places been carved into ice sculptures. The snow on the ground sparkled, giving the whole garden a enchanted feeling. Hermione looked up and saw Ron. He was sitting on a bench staring into space. She went and sat down beside him. They sat there for a few moments, neither of them daring to break the silence. Finally Ron spoke.

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly. Whatever Hermione expected, that wasn't it.

"To talk," she said, unsure of how to respond.

"About what," he seemed to be talking in monotone. 

"You didn't even give me time to explain." she said trying to look him in the eye. He avoided her gaze and continued.

"Explain what?" he said in a petulant tone.

"Ron don't play stupid with me. I know you know what we are talking about." she said shivering slightly.

"Whatever." he turned away from her debating whether or not to get up and leave. He didn't like the way this conversation was going.

"Ron just listen. The only reason I went with Malfoy is because Dumbledore made us. He thought it would be a good idea. That's why I couldn't go with you."

"So you would've gone with me if you didn't have to go with Malfoy?" he asked hopefully.

"Well……yes, I would have." she said. Ron looked at her for a bit then started to lean in. Hermione didn't know what to do! She had never been kissed before!

'Do I want Ron to be my first kiss? No. I don't like him….like that." she turned her face at the last minute and Ron kissed her check. He turned bright red and Hermione stood up and changed the subject.

"It's getting a little cold out here. I think it's time to go inside." she said. Ron stood up and they walked inside together.

'So much for teaching a lesson,' thought Hermione.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey where have you been?" said Malfoy approaching her. Ron gave him a cold look and wrapped his arm around Hermione.

"She was with me, Malfoy." Ron answered for her.

"Oh, I see," he said shortly and walked away.

"Wait!" he kept on walking. "Ron why did you do that,"

"What do you mean," he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh Lordy! Here we go again! Never mind. Just forget it," she pushed Ron's arm off of her shoulder and walked off. Hermione walked over to the refreshment table and poured herself a glass of punch.

"Hello,'' said a voice Hermione didn't recognize. She looked up and found herself staring into a pair of beautiful brown eyes. 

"Hello," she replied.

"My name's Landon Johnson," he said.

"I know, said Hermione. Landon looked at her expectantly.

"And your name is……."

"Oh yea, Hermione. Hermione Granger." she said blushing and smiling at the same time.

"Hermione? Interesting name. Nice to meet you." he said. He smiled down at her sincerely. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way or think that I'm just some slimy git trying to hit on you but you look really beautiful." Hermione blushed again.

"Thanks. So how do you like Hogwarts?"

"Well, It's alright. I miss home though." his smile drooping slightly as he said the last part.

"Where's home?" she asked.

"A little town in California called Wisemen." he said sadly.

"Wisemen? Interesting name." said Hermione. Landon smiled a bit. A song came on and the lights dimmed some more.

"Wanna dance?" he asked hopefully.

"Yea, sure." she said.

If I fall along the way

Pick me up and dust me off  
If I get too tired to make it 

Be my breath so I can walk

If I need some of you love again

Give me more than I can stand

When my smile gets old and faded

Wait around I'll smile again

Shouldn't be so complicated

Just hold me and then

Just hold me again

Can you help I'm bent

I'm so scared that I'll never

Get put back together

Keep breaking me in 

And this is how we will live

With you and me bent.

Malfoy stood there watching them dance. They were so perfect looking. 'That could never be me. I will never fit in with her. Or with anyone. All because of my damn father. I still have to do that stupid task too.' Malfoy dreaded it, deep down inside. 'Which do I save? My skin or hers? What has she ever done for me?' He left the ball and headed for his room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione spent the rest of the ball talking to Landon. He was sweet and nice and was interested to hear what Hermione had to say. The ball ended around 12 and the hall emptied quickly. People were anxious to get to sleep or talk about what had happened that night. Landon kissed her on the cheek good-bye. It felt different from Ron's kiss. Hermione's cheek was still warm by the time she got into bed.

'What an interesting night.' she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That night, Hermione had another dream:

She was fighting. There were people she knew fighting with her. Bodies were lying everywhere. People were screaming obviously being tortured. Hermione could hardly stand it. Someone was coming at her with their wand. Hermione lifted her hand and knocked them backwards. She seen a flash of green light and woke up. She lay there for the rest of the night with tears falling down her cheeks trying to figure out what all this meant.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N- Hey hey! Thanks for reviewing! Sorry I keep taking so long to update! Please please please forgive me!! Anywho….

AlluringAngelC- I know they aren't supposed to be able to have electronics or anything with electricity on Hogwarts ground but I was hoping people would mind if I made it okay in my story. I think it went like this :He turned on his stereo. *I know that it shouldn't be able to work in Hogwarts. But just go with me here. Let's just pretend* After all that's what Fanfiction is all about isn't it? There aren't any boundaries. I've read stories that are slash or have Hermione being a prostitute. It's whatever you want you know? 

Wondergirl- here you go! Lol!

Anonymous- thanks sooo much!

hasapi- yea I know I dunno where I got that from…hehe…I hope I don't disappoint you with the ball. I kinda disappointed myself. It isn't what I wanted but I don't know how to get what I want. Does that make sense? Lol

BluLightning-Lol here ya go! I'm so glad I can expand your horizons a lil! Hehe. Thanks I'm glad you like it! Yea I knew deep down inside she could be girly!

Mimi girl- thank you….yes I do think Draco is so darn cute! Whoever doesn't can just suck my big toe…lol juss joking.

Risquer- thanks Ris! I'm glad I kick ass! And don't worry you're not being rude I totally understand!

Couch-potato- I just love your name. It describes me perfectly. Lol. 

Um………-glad you like my story! Lol you crack me up…..I hope I didn't make you too angry….J 

Mirei- Thanks!!!!!

Kerbi- I'm glad you like it. I have to go back and finish your story!! It was so good I loved it!!! 

Irish Lass- hehe….wrote more 4 ya!

An93x- thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it!! I hurried up for ya1

  
  



	9. The Christmas Tree and Presents

A/N- Hey I took a nap earlier and won't be tired for a couple hours so what do I do to help with my insomnia? Write another chapter of course. I don't feel to well. I keep sneezing and my nose is running. I think I might be allergic to the guinea pig. :( I love Chomper!!! Anywho....I've only got 6 reviews for chapter 8!! Where is everybody? Probably out having fun while lil ol me sits at home. Anywho..........

Disclaimer- Harry Potter is not mine....*cries hysterically*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, Hermione woke up and headed to the bathroom. She looked herself over in the mirror. Her hair was messed up, she had bags under her eyes, and they were puffy, her mascara had streaked down her face. All in all, she looked like crap. She grabbed her toiletries and headed for the bathtub. Running the water as hot as she could get it she turned the other knobs. The bathtub filled with all sorts of different bubbles and she slipped into them. She floated around for a while thinking about last night.

'Landon is so cute. And so sweet. I really wanna get to know him better. You know, I only danced twice last night. Once with Draco and once with Landon. Come to think of it, I didn't see Draco after that. I wonder what he up to.'

She stayed in the tub until her skin turned pruney. She climbed out of the tub and slipped into her robe.

'I might as well get an early start on Christmas shopping.' she thought. She got ready for a day at Hogsmeade.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Dissendium" said Hermione. The hump-backed statue opened up and Hermione slide quickly inside the narrow passage. She followed it until she got to the stairs. She climbed and climbed until she finally reached the trap door. She cracked it open to check and see if anyone was around. Seeing no one, Hermione climbed out and dusted herself off. She walked quickly and entered Honeydukes. Hermione looked around trying to decide what to get for Ron. She grabbed a package of Pepper Imps and some Cockroach Clusters as a joke. She grabbed some Fizzing Whizbees for Harry. She headed to a new book store called Barie's Books. She walked over to the isle labeled Muggle Books. She picked out her favorites as a Christmas present for herself. She saw a book titled Little Known Facts About Astronomy.

'That would be a perfect gift for Draco!' she grabbed that book too. She went up to the counter to pay for them. Draco's book was a bit more expensive than Hermione would have expected. She paid more for Draco her enemy than she did for Harry or Ron. 'Oh well, what they don't know won't hurt them.' She left for Hogwarts.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Hermione entered the Common Room, she saw a big package sitting in the middle of the room. Draco was still in his room and hadn't bothered to come out and unwrap it. She opened the note on it.

Miss Granger,

I thought you might like to add a festive spirit into your common room. Feel free it put it up whenever you like.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

She tore open the package and saw to her delight a Christmas tree. She started putting it together and pretty soon, she had a fully erected, 7ft tall Christmas tree. Draco stepped out of his room and gave her a strange look.

"What are you doing?" he asked circling around the tree, surveying it.

"Decorating," she said simply. 

"Don't you think it's a little too early to be putting up a Christmas tree?" he asked with a slight smile on his face.

"It's never to early. And besides, where would I put the presents?"

"Yea I guess."

"Do you wanna help me decorate it?" she asked hopefully.

"No," answered Draco.

"Please, pretty pretty please?" she said, giving him some puppy dog eyes.

"Oh alright. Just stop with the eyes." he said turning his head away and closing his eyes like he couldn't bear to take the puppy dog look. Hermione giggled and handed him some ornaments. Soon the Christmas tree was done. 

"Looks pretty good if I do say so myself," said Draco. He was right the tree was gorgeous. I was decorated in silver and gold. The lights sparkled. Hermione had added some flames to sit on the branches like she had seen in the gardens at the ball. The angel at the top was magnificent. She looked exactly what Hermione thought an angel should look like.

"Yea. It looks perfect. Oh wait I almost forgot!" she said running from the room to go retrieve something from her room. She came back with presents in her arms and placed them under the tree. 

"There," she said. "Now it looks perfect." she smiled up at him

"Yes it does," said Draco staring down at her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N Rally short chapter I know. And pretty uneventful too. But I got bored and decided to post some more! Thanks to all who reviewed!


	10. Chyler and Landon

A/N- Hey hey what's up? Not much here. I was sick yesterday but my dad made me take some fish pills so I feel better!! I want you to get to know the exchange students better. So you'll be hearing a lot from them hopefully! I'm so excited I get to go back to babysitting! I miss my boys!! Plus the daddy is really hot! Don't think me a pervert! Because if you saw him you would think so too! He he. Anywho back to the story! I'm gonna try to get this posted tonight even though I really should be studying for my tests! but they can wait. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Monday morning, as Hermione was outside the doors to the Great Hall someone called her name. Well sort of.

"Hermy-own" called a breathless voice. Running up to her from behind. Hermione bristled. Who didn't know how to say her name? She turned around and seen the replica of Landon.

"Yes," she said when the girl had reached her side.

"Hey, my name's Chyler. Ummm. Dumbledore told me if I needed any help to get to classes to ask you. If you don't mind that is. It's just that I don't know my way around here and I need some help."

"Oh sure. I'd be glad to help you!" she said.

"Thank you so much Hermy-own." she said gratefully.

"It's Hermione." said Hermione politely.

"Oh I'm sorry. I've just never heard that name before." her face was turning pink.

"That's alright. I've never heard of Chyler before either." she said. "Do you need help getting to the Great Hall."

"Well actually, yes. If you don't mind." she said.

"Oh it's no problem. We're already here." she smiled and opened the door for the girl. But before the girl could go another figure with blonde pushed past her, nearly knocking Chyler over.

"Excuse you!" said Hermione. The girl kept walking and didn't look back. "Who was that?" she asked Chyler, forgetting that she was new at Hogwarts and probably didn't know.

"Oh her? That was Adrian."

"Adrian. She's from America too right?" asked Hermione as they sat down at a table.

"Yup. I was hoping she wouldn't be picked to represent us. She gives us Americans a bad name." said Chyler taking a bit of everything.

"Well we have some people around here that give us a bad name too." said Hermione casting a dark look over at Malfoy. Chyler followed her gaze and squealed.

"Oooooh! Who's that? He's hot!" she said excitedly.

"Him? That's Draco Malfoy." she said buttering her some toast.

"Draco? What a weird name," she said taking a drink of her juice. "Is he your boyfriend?" she asked. Hermione turned beet red and sputtered. "No of course not! Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Are you sure? Because ever since you sat down he's been giving you these looks. If ya'll aren't going out you should be."

"Yea right. Me and Draco. That's really funny." she said trying to laugh a bit as to show her exactly how funny it was.

"I think you two are just in denial."

"Draco and I have been mortal enemies since the day we met. He's in Slytherin. He'll be a Death Eater eventually."

"He can't become a Death Eater! He's too cute!" she said happily.

"Get over his cuteness and get to know him." said Hermione grumpily.

"Well, I suppose you know him best." said Chyler, deciding to drop the subject leaving Hermione very relieved.

"Well you wanna know who I think is cute," asked Hermione teasingly already picking up the fact that Chyler was slightly boy crazy. 

"Landon," she said. Chyler looked about ready to faint.

"My brother??? My brother cute? No no you must be mistaken." she said hurriedly. 

"Nope I think he's very cute." she said trying not to laugh.

"He's not cute! I can't believe you would say that!" she squealed.

"Hon, do you realize that you two look exactly alike and that when you say he's not cute, really all you are saying is your not cute." said Hermione smiling. 

"Well I guess you have a point. But still he's my brother. It's gross! Ewwww!" she said and Hermione burst out laughing.

"Well it's gross that you think Malfoy is hot." defended Hermione.

"No that's different. He is hot." she said dreamily as she looked over at him.

"Whatever you say." said Hermione giving up.

"Yes, whatever I say. And I say he's cute!" she said smiling Hermione smiled too.

"Your crazy." Chyler giggled. At that moment the mail arrived.

"Whoa!" she gasped as her tawny owl dropped her letter in her lap. "Our mail doesn't arrive like that. Usually they just bring it to our rooms."

"Really. How interesting." said Hermione. Chyler read her letter slowly then put it away.

"That was from my mom and dad. I really miss them." she said sadly.

"Oh come on now. We can't have you getting homesick. Lets go to class."

"Alright." said Chyler. And they linked arms and skipped all the way to class. *Sorry I don't know what's up with me today I think it's the fish pills. J *

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That afternoon, as Hermione was walking to Hagrid's hut for her class, she heard another voice calling for her. Though this person pronounced her name right.

"Hermione! Wait up." Hermione froze. She recognized this voice, it was Landon. 

'Oh shit I hope I look alright.' thought Hermione. 'What am I saying? I've only known him for how long and already he's making me freak out about how I look?' She turned around and smiled.

"Hey Landon," she said.

"Hey what's up?" he fell into step beside her and put his hand in his pockets.

"Not much how about you? Are you like Hogwarts better?" she asked tightening her grip on her books.

"Yea. Everyday keeps getting better." he smiled and Hermione realized just how brown his eyes were.

"Great. So what class are you headed to?" she asked him.

"Professor Trelawney's" he said simply as they stopped in front of Hagrids hut.

"But that's on the other side of the school!" she squealed. Landon shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh well."

"What are you doing all the way down here anyway?" Landon turned red.

"Ummmm…..I got lost." he said finally.

"Well do you need help getting back to your class?" she asked.

"Well if you wouldn't mind……." he said with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Oh no, not at all. After all that is my job as Headgirl. Let me just tell Hagrid first." she walked around to the back of the hut. After a couple of minutes she was back.

"Alrighty." she said and they started the walk back up to the castle.

A pair of icy blue eyes watched them leave.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So what was it like back home?" asked Hermione.

"Well, I lived in California. So we never got snow and it was warm all the time. It's very beautiful. You'll see when you go."

"Yea I suppose." they stopped at the entrance to the classroom.

"Hermione," he said looking down at her.

"Yea?" she said looking up at him.

"Well there's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend and I was wondering if you wanna go and maybe hang out with me?"

"Ummm, sure. That would be great." she had a brief vision of Malfoy but pushed it aside. "I would love to go."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N dun de dun dun duuuuuunnnn! Well what do ya think? Question: Does Draco have blue eyes or gray? I always thought pale blue. But I've read some stories and they said gray. Oh well, I'm gonna be a trendsetter! In my story he's gonna have pale blue eyes. Thanks to all who reviewed! It looks like I'm gonna have 100 reviews sooner than I thought! I've been meaning to write some more about the wandless magic and more jokes between Hermione and Draco but I haven't gotten around to it. And I don't want this story to be over yet. I'm having too much fun with it.

Maddie- Glad you like it! I do have writers block really. At the beginning of every chapter! It takes me forever to figure out how to start it! Aw permanent writers block? That has to suck! Maybe you'll get over it! I thought I had that too but it's a lot easier once you get started.

H-L-C_12345-hmmm strange? Yea I guess but deep down, we are all strange.

natalie- thanks for reviewing! I'm glad I'm not boring you!

Indiviualists- I won't ask. I'm like that sometimes to! Wait no more! The next chapter will be up as soon as I say something to everyone who reviewed! I like fairly oddparents. They crack me up!

um………..-lol you still have insomnia? Lol take a sleeping pill. Read the dictionary! Count sheep! Lmao…those always help for me! You can come out of the corner now!!! And yes, Irish cheese is cool.

ManiacalLaughterofaManiac- I'm glad I'm a fav! You have friends in the Maniacs of the Loco House?? What a coincidence! So do I!! Lol. And my hair is already a bright rainbow color! I dyed with Kool-aid! And that's alright I don't remember most of my dreams anyway. Lol I get carried away too!

Risquer-You've read this story from the start haven't you?? *gives Ris a big hug nearly choking the poor person* Even I don't know what's gonna happen with Landon. We'll see how it goes. *strokes chin in a perfect imitation of the Steven, the Dell guy* You will not kill my guinea pig! She's not mine she my science teacher's I'm keeping her for the break. Besides Chomper can beat your cats butt any day! Bring it ON!!! Lol….I have a cat to and a hamster and a dog and in March I'm getting a cow!! Hehe.

tom felton's babe- I'm glad you like it! Get closer to Draco??? Of course, in all due time! You don't like Landon??? Awww! Hmmm….Hermione and Draco have a son, or a daughter for any matter. Would ya'll totally kill me if I did that? More jokes coming up in the next chapters…..as soon as I can think of them.

Maddie- ………………………………........can't think of anything to say either! Lol…thanks for reviewing!

Roswell4ever- I have a reader from Sweden? Like in Switzerland?? Lmao…Sorry I love that episode of Boy Meets World. You might not have seen it but it cracks me up every time! Anywho…I can't believe I have a reader from Sweden that's so cool! Cool beans! I'm so glad you enjoy it. I wonder where everyone else in from.

Helly120- Why can Hermione do wandless magic? Hmmmmm should I leave you in suspense? Yes I should. You'll find out in all due time. I've been meaning to write some more about it but keep forgetting!

Kaitiland- favor granted!! Posting some more!

CassieXanthe- Of course I can leave it there! I can do whatever I want…maaaaahahaha!! You've been with the story for a while haven't you? *gives big hug*

hasapi-I'm glad you like Landon! I don't even know where I'm going with that one! I'm gonna explain the wandless magic and Draco's loyalty sometime soon. Well I don't suppose that I can up with wandless magic….that's prolly been around before I was born…well the idea of it anyway…..why do you ask? I'm not gonna claim it was all my idea cuz really think of all the other things I've used in this story that other people have like the Headboy/Headgirl plot and stuff. I just hopefully added a lil spice. Here I got ranting on and on when I don't even know if that's the reason you asked!

Lauren-I'm glad you think its REALLY good. I think its REALLY good that you reviewed! Hehe.

mimi girl-hey! I'm glad you like Landon unlike someone I won't mention *cough Tom Felton's Babe cough* lol. Yes Draco is lovely!

An93x- your welcome…hehe. I'm glad you liked it!

Irish Lass- I'm glad you like how it's coming along! Yea that is sweet. I've had it happen to me only once! *smiles contently then realizes what a jerk he turned out to be* well hopefully what happened to me won't happen to Hermione. Does that rhyme?? Lol. You know I didn't even realize I wrote that she put it together. See at my house our tree is fake and we have to put it together. I suppose it would have been a tad bit more romantic if they would have went and chopped down a tree. I might have them do that. Would you like that? I wonder what Draco will get Hermione too! I haven't even thought of that! Thanks for reminding me! Alrighty I'll try the Harry and Ron POV thing! I just dunno when…I'll have to work something out Don't you feel special? Hey you've been reading the story for a while to haven't you? *gives the lass a big hug* thanks!

Talleenian w/ Hailey- I'm glad you think its excellent! I think you're excellent for reviewing!

BluLightning- Lol. Yes shame on him for trying to kiss a girl he likes! *Takes Ron's hand and slaps it* Lol you don't like Ron? Why not? He's alright sometimes! I just rather Hermione and Draco. I'm glad you er love me. Lol. But I'm really glad you love the story!

Where's Sushie-Chan and lil-spitfire and kris biggerstaff???? *sob*

That's all folks!!


	11. The Boys' Pranks

A/N-I've got100 reviews!!!!! YAY!! *breaks out her patented happy dance* I'm really excited because I have 100 reviews and out of all of them only 1 flamer! Anywho! Thanks to all who reviewed! Not sure what to do in the chapter so I'm gonna try to move the story on a little bit! Maybe explain some things in the next few chapters....................... But first I have to read over my chapters because I forgot what they were about! Can you believe that? Lol!

If you want to, AFTER you review for this chapter J , check out this site! www.youdontknowwhoiam.org and tell your friends about it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That night, Hermione tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable way to sleep. Giving up she stood up and wrapped her robe around her. As she was pacing back and forth through her room, she heard Draco muttering to himself in the common room. She crept to the door and peeked out. Draco was pacing, just like Hermione had been, talking to himself and gesturing wildly.

"Dammit! Why does my father have to be one of Voldemort's supporters. Why could he be.......I dunno....Arthur Weasley." he said as he stopped in front of the fireplace. Hermione snorted, if only Ron could here this now! Malfoy wanting a dad like Mr. Weasley? "Now I have to get a bloody Dark Mark. I'm actually starting to like it here. And I've still got to find out information on Her----" a loud crash stopped Draco's thoughts and he looked up to find Hermione on the floor with an end table on top of her.

"How long have you been there?" he asked hurriedly running over to her and helping her up. 

"Long enough. I just came to see what you were doing and why you were talking to yourself."

"That's none of your business." he snarled.

"Well, it's my business that you're keeping me awake." she said crossing her arms and frowning at Draco.

"I'm so terribly sorry," he said sarcastically. "But I have more important things on my mind other than how much sleep you are getting."

"Yea, like Voldemort's next assignment." she said rolling her eyes. Draco stood there for a second, anger coursing through his veins. His eyes flashed and before Hermione knew it he was towering over her.

"Don't you think for one second that I won't let Voldemort at you. He has no pity for Mudbloods." he said angrily spitting with every word.

"I'm not afraid of him," she said bravely, pushing her shoulders back and lifting her chin up.

"You should be, you foolish Mudblood." Hermione lifted her hand and knocked Draco to the ground hitting the back of his head on the table.

"Just because you're afraid of him, doesn't mean I have to be." she said, spinning around and walking back to her room, slamming the door and knocking a picture off the wall. Leaving Malfoy to massage the back of his head she went and laid down on her bed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, Hermione was sitting in the Great Hall when Harry, Ron, and Landon busted in laughing their heads off and running to be seated.

"What's so funny?" asked Hermione, looking around at the three red faced boys.

"Nothing, just a harmless practical joke." said Landon.

"Oh? They've corrupted you already have they?" she asked smiling and noticing the dimples in his cheeks. Ron snorted.

"Us? Corrupt Landon? Oh no, you've got it all backwards! More like Landon corrupting us!" he said and was engulfed in another fit of laughter. This started them all up again.

"Oh come on now! What is it? What did you three do?" she said getting annoyed at not being in on the secret.

"Like we'd tell you! Your Headgirl!" said Harry.

"Hello? I am you're best friends! I won't tell I promise!" her voice was getting high.

"Oh alright. You see, we snuck up into the girls dormitories and played some pranks on them while they were sleeping." said Ron snorting again.

"Like what?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Well, we put honey all over Parvati. And we shaving creamed Lavender." said Harry since Ron was laughing to hard to make any sense.

"And I got a permanent marker and drew all over Chyler. You should see her! She has a mustache, a unibrow, and a goatee!" said Landon. Ron gained control over himself and took a drink of his orange juice.

"Then, get this, we got a bowl of warm water and stuck Parvati's hand in it! She wet the bed all over!" They started laughing all over again and Ron shot his juice through his nose, making them laugh even harder. When they were through, Harry was on the floor and Landon had tears in his eyes, Ron was cleaning up his mess.

"I don't think it's funny." said Hermione indignantly.

"Oh come on Hermione! Where's your sense of humor?" asked Landon playfully.

"Sorry, I must have left it in my room." said Hermione sarcastically.

"Come on Hermione, it was all in the name of fun," said Harry as Ron wiped up the last of his juice.

"Well Harry, let me ask you a question. What would you've done to me if I was still living in there with them?" she asked looking around at the shocked expressions on the boys' faces. "Well?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

"I guess we'd have to think of another prank. We'd probably permanent marker you too." said Ron. Harry and Landon laughed.

"Har har," said Hermione. "I still don't think it's funny. But," she said standing up, "I am rather curious as to what their reactions will be." she said smiling. The boys joined in and they left the Great Hall. The climbed through the portrait hole and up the staircase to the girls dormitories. They opened the door and peeked in, the girls were still in bed sound asleep. Hermione went in to inspect the work. She tried to stifle her laughter as she looked at the damage.

"How on Earth did they sleep through this?" whispered Hermione when she had walked back to the boys. 

"They're really sound sleepers," said Ron chuckling. 

"I can't believe they sleep this late anyway." said Hermione.

"Oh Chyler will be waking up any minute now. See how her eyes are twitching?" Hermione looked at him strangely. "I notice these things alright?" 

"Whatever you say," she whispered. Sure enough, moments later, Chyler woke up. She stood up and stretched. Hermione and the boys ducked behind the door. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she walked to the bathroom.

"One, two,--------" counted Ron.

"ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" screamed Chyler busting out of the bathroom and waking the rest of the girls.

"What is it?" said Parvati rolling over and trying to get back to sleep. Then, noticing she was a little….uh….damp she woke up. She sat up and looked around her. She felt the sheets and herself. She was wet and sticky and she echoed Chyler's scream.

"ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Lavender woke up and did the same. The boys could resist themselves, they burst into laughter. Chyler stopped screaming and opened the door. The boys toppled into the room.

"YOU THREE!!!" she screamed. The boys stood up laughing. "I can't believe you!" her face was turning red and she looked extremely angry. The boys stopped laughing.

"Oh come on Chyler. Where's your sense of humor?" asked Landon playfully.

"I'll show you a sense of humor. Just wait Landon Shane Johnson! I'll get you back!" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N- So what will the girls cook up for the boys.? Wait and find out in the next installment of Hermione and Draco, Meant to Be? By now I have 105 reviews!!!! Yay!!


	12. Christmas Eve

A/N- I'm so terribly sorry!! I haven't updated in a while but I've been really busy ever since Thursday. Ballgames, going places and guys have taken up a lot of time! Lol. Actually my life is in total chaos right now...but I won't bore you with all the details! I am so behind you wouldn't even believe! So much to do so much to do! I got another flamer.....this one really really pissed me off. It was such a waste of time, mine and theirs....You'll see if you go and read it. But you'll prolly get the picture when I respond to them. Anywho. I'm sorry it's taking to long to get this out. But I can't seem to concentrate. 

If anybody wants a good read…try The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. This is not for the light of heart! It's sorta morbid. About death and stuff. Probably mature readers only.

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything vaguely associated with him. Now leave me alone so I can go cry in my corner....................

By the way did anyone check out that site???? Lol!!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Christmas Eve morning, Hermione woke up to find a note attached to her pillow.

"If you're brave enough, join us guys outside for a snowball fight." Hermione jumped out of her bed and put on some clothes. She stuffed her wand into her pocket and headed outside. As soon as she walked out of the doors she was pelted in the head with a snowball. Hearing giggling to her right, she picked up some snow and packed it together to form a perfect ball. Just as she was about to throw it at the top of Harry's head behind his fort, she was hit in the back with another snowball. Hermione spun around quickly on her heel and threw it. Pretty soon, snow was flying everywhere. Ron and Harry jumped out from behind their forts and Landon and Chyler jumped out from behind theirs. Hermione stooped to pick up some snow and when she stood up she was hit in the face with tightly packed snow.

"Alright none of that now! That hurt." said Hermione laughing slightly. Harry ran at her with a handful of loose snow and stuffed it down her shirt. She squealed and laughed trying to get it all out. Hermione got a wicked idea…..she waved her hand at some snow…..and threw it all at Harry.

"Alright none of that now!" said Harry mimicking Hermione. "No magic allowed! This is an old-fashion snowball fight!" he said as he bent down to pick up some snow realization dawned on his face. "You didn't use your wand!"

"Yea, my powers are getting stronger I guess. That was the first time I've been able to use them without being extremely angry." she said looking astonished.

"That's great Herm. We'll be defeating Voldemort in record time." he said going back to making a snowball.

"What do you mean by that," asked Hermione. Harry looked at her puzzled face and realized that she didn't know. 'Dumbledore should be the one to tell her. Not me.' After all, he had only found out that morning. It would be a matter of time before he told her too.

"Well," he said trying to think of a reasonable explanation. "We're gonna need all the help we can get to help defeat Voldy." Hermione giggled at the nickname. Imagine someone actually calling him that. Only Harry or Dumbledore would even dare.

"Yea I guess," said Hermione thinking over his theory. She stood there, zoning out until a snowball hit her on her stomach. Snapping back to reality, she realized there was still a snowball fight going on. She grabbed some snow and joined back in.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione was sitting on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa when Draco came back from wherever he had been that day. He stood there awkwardly not knowing what to say. Hermione waited patiently in her red and gold robe. 

"Hermione," said Draco, not meeting her eyes.

"Yes," she was not going to make this any easier on him.

"Look I'm sorry that I……exploded like that. I didn't mean to. It's just that……" he trailed off looking hopelessly at her. The ice around Hermione's heart melted.

"It's alright. I understand." she interrupted and then went back to her drink that was getting colder by the second. She looked up quickly and smiled. "I got you a gift. Would you like it now?"

Draco stood there now in shock. "You didn't have to get me anything. After the way I treated you……I didn't get you anything." he said apologetically. 

"That's alright….and I got you this before you…..well, you know." she put down her mug and padded to her room. Draco went and sat down on a chair. She came back with a neatly wrapped package. 

"Wrapped it myself," said Hermione as Draco looked over the green wrapping paper with the gold snitches flying around and the big silver bow on top. "Well what are you waiting for?" asked Hermione wanting to see his reaction.

"I always thought it was a shame for someone to take so much time to wrap something perfectly then for another person to mess it all up." said Draco, looking up at her from where she sat on the arm of his chair.

"Oh come on now Draco. Don't worry about it. I did it with my wand if truth be told." said Hermione smiling at him and gabbing his forearm. "I don't care. Tear into it!"

Draco did as he was told. He ripped the paper off and opened the box. His eyes opened wide. 

"I saw that book and thought of you in the astronomy room. So do you like it?" she said as he opened it up and flipped through some pages.

"Do I like it?" he repeated. "I love it. Thank you! I'm just sorry that I didn't think to get you anything." he said giving her sad eyes. Hermione giggled.

"Oh don't worry about it. 'Tis the season after all." she said lightly. "Well I'm going to bed." she said standing up with a huge yawn.

"Alright. Sweet dreams." Hermione lay in bed that night thinking about how weird it was to hear Voldemort to be called Voldy and Draco say sweet dreams.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning Hermione woke to find another note attached to her pillow.

'What is up with that?' thought Hermione as she reached over and pulled the second note that week off her pillow.

Hermione,

It was sorta last minute but I managed to get you something for Christmas. But hey, when you have an incredibly rich father…*Hermione rolled her eyes.* anything is possible. So put on some warm clothes and get ready. I hope you don't mind spending most of the day away from your friends but I promise to get you back in time to celebrate with them.

Draco Malfoy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N- Really short chapter I know. Very disappointing and not very good. But I just wanted ya'll to know that I'm still alive and well. I just seem to have trouble concentrating. I've had the beginning of this chapter forever but I just can seem to sit still long enough to finish it out. I promise to get another one up soon. Well as soon as I can.

|ce^Pr|nceSs- Hey I'm glad you like my story! Yup, Hermione and Draco could work together perfectly…hehe

Sighhhhh-Hmmm. Hermione? Get in trouble? Never…muahhhahhh!! Who says she has to chose? Hehe! Just joking!

DeathValley79- I am soooo sorry. I bet you hate me you impatient person you! Hehe. What does ROTFL mean? hehe. I have no clue. I feel like I haven't been let in on some big secret cuz I see it all the time. I think.

Risquer-Yes one of my very first fans! Lol you will not kill the guinea pig! She' not mine and I'm thinking of breeding her with my hamster!! Haha Hamster Pigs!!! Or guinea hamsters!! I'm gonna email you back really soon hopefully sorry I haven't so far tho! Very very busy!

lil-spitfire- of course I remembered you. I remember *most* of the people that's reviewed a lot! Lol I'm glad your that excited about my story!! Hehe makes me feel all warm and bubbly inside! I'm also glad mines one of their favs and that you like Chyler and Landon. Not much of them in this chapter tho. 

S-Star- I'm glad you agree with me! I hate being wrong! Hehe. But I guess that his eyes can be any color the writer wants them to be in that story. Here I say they are pale ice blue. Lol jealousy a look for Draco? Hehe maybe….

Blue eyes- AAWWW I've changed somebody a lil!!! Yes I hope u like it and they find love in each other too!

Um……….-I'm glad I could be of some assistance! 3 whole hours of sleep? Wow! I always thought sheep were kinda cute! I have no clue about the Irish Cheese I was just agreeing with you….hehe.

Love- I'm glad you think my stories awesome. Hehe!

Hasapi- oh I understand now. I figured there might be some stories with it in them. And I'm defiantly not taking credit for it. Hehe that's like me taking credit for inventing Post Its! *Which by the way I DIDN'T make. Hehe* yea I know I just got through one of those do I like him….or him…..very disoriented right now. 

BluLightning- Yup just call me sunshine from now on! Hehe u are a crack monkey!! Lol. I love the name Landon! I was going to name my kid that but then I changed it to Lyndon. And I'm gonna name my girl Chyler….but all that is subject to change. Considering I've got years to go before I have them. If I have twins though I'm going to name them Aidan and Nadia. Because when u turn them around they spell the other one! Or if I have a girl perhaps Grace. Cuz that's what my name means. Well not my pen name my real name. Hehe I'm probably boring u to death! Yea I think u used it right. I'm not very sure how to use it myself.

Starr- yea he's pretty good looking. He's grown up a bit in the second movie! I'm glad you like my characters and u did spell it right.

Jubilybabe- I'm glad you LOVE my story!! Hehe. And I'm sorry I have you checking everyday for updates that's not been there recently! I love chemistry! That's what makes a couple! I like the struggle to change him too! I'm gonna try to make Ron happy! I think he deserves to be happy too.

Luckyducky6289-I'm glad you love it! Sorry I didn't update sooner!

Tom felton's babe- actually I sorta like the idea of them having a kid. I might make them in like an epilogue of this story or something. Well Landon is kinda forward when he isn't being shy. Sorta like me. Except the guy version. He goes after what he wants. I like bad boys too! But I'm like Landon! Weird huh? Lol. I plan on explaining wandless magic soon! I just can't seem to get around to it! I'm gonna have some more jokes. And some more fluff even though the fluff is unintentional it seems to creep into my story and I don't realize it until later! Well I'm gonna stick with the icy blues eyes. I'm too lazy to change it and it sorta has a ring to it.

-yup fish pills. I don't know why tho.

Libranchicha- I'm glad you like it and thanks for the compliment! *blushes* that's sooo nice!

Mimi-girl- hehe what did u do to the whole school? Dying to know!

Dragon master draco- let Hermione and Draco stay together? Hehe they aren't together yet neways! I am sooo evil! J/k!

Violet-Bauldair- Do u read The Series Of Unfortunate Events? Lol I suppose you do because of your name. I love that series but I haven't gotten the latest yet. You'll have to wait and see ;)

Taraice- I'm finishing the story and flattered to be called DAMN cool! Hehe. But I bet your story is awesome. I might check it out if I get the time!

Topaz-flame- AWWW I'm your first fic! Hehe I feel honored! I'm glad you don't think its too soppy or mushy!

MrlcD+dracoM- glad you like it!

snappy fish- You mean I'm not your first? L Lordy? I love that word hehe. I'm glad you said that about this story being mine cuz that's what helps me continue!

-Hey I don't care what you think. This is my story and I refuse to change it the only thing you can do is just go and read your Hermione and Ron or Harry stories because this one is a Hermione and Draco story. I'm also working on expanding the story to other couples as best as I can. Well if you think I stink then I must be really bad because you can't even spell or write a sentence that normal people can comprehend. Go back to the looney bin or doin ur crack and leave me alone. Whatever you are taking must be really messing you up because you seem to have the illusion that you are Emma Watson. Right your Emma Watson and I'm Zena Warrior Princess. Lmao!!! And then you woke up. Go ahead hate me. Does it look like I care? K nope sure don't. Do me a favor and go tell somebody who does. You haven't seen me so don't even say crap like that. Why would I waste my time remembering that you like Ron. Well you can remember this. I DON'T CARE!! I have a boyfriend. I'm only 14. Not quite ready for marriage. But your telling ME to do this when you're the one that's wasting our time. I might just go do that to! He's a lot cuter than Ron.

Irish Lass- I might take you up on that one! Yes I like environmentally friendly things. They are so……friendly? Hehe. That's cool tree scent. I want some of that! I'm gonna check out your story soon I promise!

-Thank you soo much whoever you are! I'm glad I have people on my side. Hehe. You make me feel better!

CassieXanthe- Nope haven't read it why? I'm not gonna leave it there obviously. When it gets to the end I'll put something cheesy like :The End. Well what do you think? I'm not sure it will get the point across but oh well. Thanks for recommending 

LuLily- I'm glad you like it! I'm also glad you don't believe the flamer! Thanks for your support! I'm gonna keep saying that to myself. It's my fic and no one else can change what I think…..

*karly* I understand. I made a boo-boo when I had the Headpersons lead them back to the dorms. I call them Headpersons for short when he's talking about the both of them. Hermione has learned in the past that it's impossible to cooperate with Draco. It's common knowledge in the fan fiction work but not in this story. To me common knowledge about anything in Harry Potter comes from when JK Rowling puts it in her book. I'm not trying to be mean. I appreciate your help a lot and the fact that you would take your time to help me out. We need more people around here like that instead of flamers.

Anonymous- Glad you like it!


	13. Paris and The Skinned Cat

A/N- Happy New Years!!!! I hope ya'll had a good one! I wanted to get this out sooner than this but….you know me. Always late….but worth the wait. Well perhaps some of you think that. Ha ha. I was laying in bed thinking about the story and what I'm going to do. So I think I know what's gonna happen but you know plans change. Its hard really. I have all this stuff that I need to put in the story but its hard to sort it out. I'm not a very organized person really. Hehe….onto the story-------------------------

---------

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione swung her legs off of the bed and stretched. Draco's note seemed very mysterious. If he got her something for Christmas, then how come she had to go somewhere to get it?

'Should I trust him? After all, knowing Draco, this could be one big joke.' thought Hermione. 'Oh well, I guess I'll never know if I don't go and see.' she shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her toiletries and headed for the bathroom. 

'A nice, long, warm bath would probably do me some good right now.' thought Hermione as she opened the door to the marble bathroom. But her thoughts of soaking were dashed as soon as she saw the bathtub and what was in it.

"Ever heard of knocking Granger?" asked Draco using the same line on her as she had on him. Hermione smirked as she remembered. 

"Calm down Malfoy. It's not like I can see anything will all those bubbles…..you…..haven't got any bubbles!!!" shrieked Hermione as she spun around on her heel with her hands over her eyes.

"And its taken you how long to realize that?" said Draco laughing a little to himself. 

"Well….just now of course!" answered Hermione indignantly. "

""Draco Malfoy, taking a bubble bath? I think not. I get in here and do my business and get out. Stay like you are. I'm getting out." he said. Hermione listened carefully for signs that it was okay for her to turn around. She heard the wet patter of his footsteps as he walked over to where his robe sat. 

"Where are we going?" she asked as she put her hand down. She looked at the marble wall in front of her and up at the painted ceiling.

"It's alright to turn around now." said Draco, as he finished covering himself up. She did as she was told and looked at him. The white robe that the bathroom was always full of set off the tan he still had from that summer. She looked at his muscular chest that was peeking through his loosely tide robe. She suddenly realized what she was wearing and got embarrassed. Her black silk tank top and matching shorts did not feel very conservative. She slipped on her robe over it. She walked over to the edge of the tub and started running some of the taps. "Where are we going?" she repeated.

"That my dear," said Draco trying to act sophisticated. "Is a secret. Now don't spend too much time in the bath or I will be forced to take Pansy with me on this outing." he did a ridiculous amount of bowing as he let himself out of the bathroom shutting the door then opening it again and wiggling his eyebrows. "See you in a bit my dear." Hermione couldn't resist, she burst into a fit of giggles.

"Alright Malfoy, now leave before I drown you." she said trying and failing to splash water on him. He shut the door quickly and Hermione raised her hand to lock them. She took her bath quickly and got out. Drying off and putting on her robe she mulled over what Draco could be planning. Having only a couple minutes to get ready, she dried her hair with her wand then put it up in a bun. She slipped on a blue and silver sweater and some black pants and magicked on her makeup. She met Draco in the common room. He stood up as she entered.

"You look……nice." said Draco noting that she didn't have to do much to look that way. The outfit wasn't anything like what Pansy would wear. Pansy seems to think that the only way you can be sexy is if you show skin. Hermione wasn't showing any skin but she still looked better than Pansy ever would. 

"So do you." she said looking him up and down and taking in his appearance. He had on some khaki pants and a dark blue shirt. His chiseled chest was visible through his shirt. 

"So where are we going?" asked Hermione as they put on their coats.

"Well," said Draco as he walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a brown drawstring sack that was sitting on the mantel. "have you ever been to Paris?" 

"Yea. With my parents." she said watching him and realizing she had never noticed the bag of floo powder that had been there all this time.

"Oh," said Draco looking a little disappointed.

"But we never did any sightseeing. All they wanted to do is visit with my relatives."

"Well that's exactly what we are doing. Sightseeing that is." he held the sack out to her. She took a handful and he did the same.

"After you," he said bowing deeply. Hermione giggled and took a handful. She threw it into the fire and took a deep breath. She stepped inside the fire and felt the flames lick at her. Remembering what she was supposed to do and she yelled "Paris." Hermione spun around and around watching the flames and soot fly around her until she came to a stop. She was thrown forward but managed to catch herself in time from falling on the cement ground. She looked around at her surroundings. The room was dark with lanterns hanging from the ceiling giving the room a orange glow. There was a door to another room where a lot of celebrating was going on. The door swung open and a rather heavy set lady came into the room. 

"Why, 'ello there." said the lady in an strange accent, grabbing a rag and wiping her hands off. She smiled and Hermione was reminded of Tom from the Leaky Cauldron, she was missing one of her front teeth.

"Hello," said Hermione. "Where am I?" she said looking around for any clue.

"The Skinned Cat." said the woman simply. She started to bustle around the room which Hermione realized, was a kitchen. She prepared a tray to take out but stopped as she realized Hermione was still standing there. "Well deary, what are you waiting for?"

"Well…..my friend is supposed to be coming……"she said looking at the fireplace but only seeing a fire.

"Would you like to rest those feet of yours while you wait?" she said smiling at the girl who was obviously waiting for someone special. 

"Yea. Sure." she said following the woman through the door into the pub and to an empty table. Hermione sat down and looked around her

.

"If you'll be needin' anything just holler, I'll be around." she said walking quickly to give someone their food. Hermione looked around at the strange people. They were laughing and drinking from their glasses. Hermione looked over and caught the eyes of a slimy looking guy at the bar. He smiled and started to walk over to her.

"Is anybody sitting here?" he asked. Hermione looked at him. His eyes were glassy and he had a five o'clock shadow. His hair was very greasy and Hermione was vaguely reminded of Snape.

"Yes," she said hurriedly. "My….uh…boyfriend."

"Well, a pretty little lady like you shouldn't be around and about all alone." he said pulling out the chair and flopping onto it. He reeked of body odor and alcohol and Hermione couldn't help but make a face. "What's wrong?" he said.

"Nothing. But I don't want to sit with you. Get lost." she said, deciding to get to the point. She didn't like the way the guy looked her up and down. 

"My my. Don't cause a fuss. I just wanna get to know you better." he said slurring most of his words. Hermione felt something sliding up her leg, she looked down and seen his unwashed hand. She felt her anger rise and raised her hand to knock him across the room. But another hand from behind stopped her just in time. She yelped in surprise and struggled against the force that was holding her back. She was just about to throw them into a wall too until she heard a voice she recognized. 

"Don't touch her." said Draco. Hermione looked up at him. He had a look on his face that could've rivaled a very angry Dumbledore. The slimy guy looked at him in surprise.

"Like you've got a lot of room to be talking. Let go of my girl like that," he said swiping at Draco's arm.

"She's not your girl. Now get lost before I set her loose on you." he snarled. The guy looked from Draco to Hermione who was sitting there still struggling to get loose from Draco's grip. A smile formed on his face, showing some very yellow teeth. Hermione cringed as he started laughing and she could smell his putrid breath from across the table.

"Her? Set her loose? On me?" he said between gasps of air. Hermione stopped struggling and looked up at Draco's serious face. "You aren't serious are you?" he said doubling over in laughter.

"As a heart attack." said Draco letting go of Hermione's arm. Hermione took that as an invitation and flicked her hand. He raised up, flew a couple of feet, hit the wall and landed on the table underneath it. Hermione kept him moving, sliding him all the way down the table making him knock off plates and glasses. The whole pub turned around to see what was making all the racket. Hermione dropped her hand and turned around to see Draco holding out his wand. 

"Come on," he said grabbing her arm and pulling her out the door. Hermione stopped at the guy who was just now getting up. She stepped over the broken glass and walked up to him. She reared back and punched him in the nose making him fall over onto the table again.

"Never judge a book by it's cover." she said as she let herself be pulled out by Draco.

"Why did you have your wand out? I had it under control." she stopped but he kept walking. "Draco, stop walking." she said as she ran to catch up with him. He stopped and Hermione stood beside him panting.

"I had my wand out so if anybody saw they would think it was me making him do that." he said looking to see if anybody was around.

"Why does it matter if anybody saw?" she asked puzzled by his vagueness. 

"Hermione, not a lot of people have your powers." he couldn't believe Dumbledore hadn't even talked to her about it. She was probably the only one that doesn't know about something that has to do with her! And he was on Voldemort side! Why was we bothering to explain her powers to her? Why was he bothering to help her?

"So it's rare. Not big deal." she shrugged.

"No Hermione. Big deal. It's hard to explain but it's sorta like Harry speaking Parseltongue. Just trust me on this one. Not many people need to know." he said breathlessly. Hermione searched his eyes from some sort of clue but found none. "Now, enough of that. Let's go." They set off walking for a destination that Hermione didn't know of.

"Draco," she asked looking at the cobblestone path they were on and the forest next to them.

"Hmmm?" he said obviously lost in thought.

"What took you so long?" she said finally asking what had been on her mind for a while.

"What? Oh you mean to get here? I ended up in some place called Paris, Texas."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N- I would've posted this chapter sooner but I wanted to post this chapter and the next at once. I really wanna start on the next chapter and read some peoples stories but it's 2:20 a.m. And I need to get in bed. Dude I came back and I had 149 reviews! When did that happen? I check my mail everyday and they send me my reviews but I had no clue I had that many! I'm gonna read people's stories soon. I promise promise! 

Roseadra- Good idea! Do you mean when they get there? I think I understand. Sometimes I get a lil confused. Man you've got this whole story planned out!! Lol. Am I that predictable? The correct answer to that is no. hehe.

Clara- Have I heard from you recently? I don't think so unless this is a different Clara. But I'm glad you're a fan! No my real names not Cadence. That's just my pen name I guess. It means rhythm or beat. I think. My real name is Ana.

- I am so terribly sorry! Please forgive me! I stayed up all night to get this written! Probably all tomorrow night too for the next chapter! I promise promise that I'm going to finish this story out. No matter what anybody says!

Hermione and Harry fan- geez you scared me with your name! I thought you were gonna flame me. I'm not asking. But it seems to me that you are a closet Hermione and Draco fan. Lol. I will continue!

Kezza13- Thanks! People like you make me feel a lot better!!

Mimi girl- hey! Well this chapter is a little better. Actually it got so long that I have to make it into two chapters! Tell me anytime. But I'm dying of curiosity!

Blue eyes- Awww! Sweet as sugar! Sorry to keep you waiting!

Tom Felton's babe- lol. I think characters in a story always have a little bit of the person that wrote them. I'm like Landon to. A lil sweet a lil shy. But sometimes I'm just so darn obvious! Lol. Thanks for clearing that up for me! I feel better now! Peru? Definitely cool! Is it pretty over there? Cuz I have a list of places to go and I might want to add Peru to it. You're hand is aching? Lol think of how I feel?

Hasapi- Ya'll people have been so supportive! I highly doubt that they are telling the truth. Yea that's what I like about Draco. We know what he's like so its not as hard as writing a Katie Bell story and making it seem believable. But we don't know much so we can add whatever we want. *Personally I think writing a Katie Bell story or someone else like her would be hard for me. I need some boundaries.* newho…thanks for the compliments!

Darth…Confusions?- Thanks! Lol. Publishing. Oh yea. Maybe if I owned these characters and place! But you flatter me! *blushes* lol.

Risquer- Alright thanks for not killing her! I won't forget about you I promise!

Lil-spitfire- man you crack me up! You love all my chapters? Your just saying that. Lol there has to be one chapter that you totally despise or get bored when you read. Yea having wandless magic has its perks. Voldy! It rhymes with Moldy!!! Moldy Voldy!!!! Ha ha!!!

Um…..-I'm glad I could help! Lol. If sheep are evil then that means cotton is evil! Oh no!!!! Bbl! I must go burn 95% of my clothes!

Lady malfoy- well…..you'll see. You're b-day is on Christmas? that's cool. Hate to tell you this but I'm getting them together slowly.

Hiyuki*Renge- Do you know what he got her now? Lol. Yes being rich has its perks. Romantic….oh yea buddy!!

Starr- Hey again! Lol. I'm glad you liked it even though it was short. Everyone wants to know what Draco got Hermione! I hope I'm not disappointing anybody.

-You don't have a name? Lol. Well it's a lot easier that way I guess. I'm glad you love this story.

Ratata- Yes! Hermione and Draco forever!

BluLightning- Sorry I really didn't mean to bore you to sleep! Lol. You're a twin? Awesome possum! Neato Frito Bean Burrito! Lol. I've always wanted a twin. But that didn't happen. So I think it'd be cool to at least have em. Lol. 

Blur-X-angel- Hey new reviewer! I'm glad you like the story and the way I write. From the way you say it I seem to be coming off just like I want to. hmmm…could the reason why you are waving your arms in the air be because you want me to check out your story? Well alright. If you insist. Hehe. Do you people really think they are big mistakes? Cuz I can fix them. They're a big deal. But I'm not going to change Hermione getting mad. Like I said, to me common knowledge is what Mrs. Rowling writes in her book. And Hermione would've gotten mad if she had to share a room with Draco neways. Newho!! I'm glad you like it. And thanks for you're support. Some people do criticize me but that's alright. They can blow it out their bum. Constructive criticism is always welcome if it makes sense. I soo agree with you on that anonymous writer! That was so stupid!

EZe-E- hehe my name is Cadence. Well if its easier for you to remember you can call me by my real name, Ana. Lol you crack me up! Thanks for the best wishes! 

Lordy I love to write. And I hardly ever miss! Great New Years to you too!

CassieXanthe- I'm gonna check Battle of The Sexes out. I haven't read it yet. I'm gonna check out your story too. I've been really busy and haven' had time to check out ne lately.

TeiBairn- I LIKE THAT YOU LIKE! Hehe. Really I do! 

Anonymos- I'm glad its great! Hehe I feel like Tony The Tiger!!!


	14. The Painting and Who's Got The Last Say?

A/N- I am sooooo sorry I haven't posted in FOREVER and a day. Lordy! I wanted to post this chapter a lot sooner but I never got around to it. I left a lot of things out on the last chapter. Like the disclaimer. Which I accidentally leave out most of the time anyway. I redid the first chapter. It sounds a little better now. You probably won't notice the corrections. But anyhow, now I'm not a buff on Paris. So I don't know what it has to offer. Thanks to all reviewed! I'm so terribly sorry I'm taking so long. But I think if I would've rushed this chapter it wouldn't be very good. And I try to make this story at least a little good.

Disclaimer- You know what I don't think the disclaimer is necessary for the rest of the chapters. You all know that Harry Potter isn't mine. Why do I feel the need to tell you people when you skip over this part anyways? Lol.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Draco, my feet are starting to hurt. Are we almost there?" said Hermione doing her best impression of a whiny three year old. Draco looked at her and smirked. 

"Oh stop complaining. We're almost there." he said looking around to see if they were in fact, almost there.

"Where are we going?" she said for the millionth time. Draco stopped in his tracks.

"Do you really wanna know?" he asked with an annoyed look on his face.

"Yes," said Hermione with a huge grin on her face.

"Okay. We're going………….." he said trailing off and leaving her in suspense.

"Yes," she said eagerly.

"To find a cab." the look on her face was priceless and Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"Not funny," she said punching him lightly on the shoulder but she laughed too. "Okay if you want to surprise me. I guess that'll be alright." They set off again. As they got further down the road she could see they were coming nearer to town. Houses were on both sides of them and pretty soon the came to the middle of the village.

"Where are we?" she asked looking around for any sign of the Eiffel tower. 

"A little town just outside of Paris. I'm not even sure of the name. The Skinned Cat was the closest place I could get to be connected to our fireplace. I was thinking about a Portkey but its more convenient like this."

"You mean something could be less convenient than walking for 3 hours?" asked Hermione crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

"Yes. I'm not sure why but the network is all clogged. I'm lucky it was only a 3 hour walk." he said glancing down at his watch. "Hermione, it wasn't a three hour walk."

"What?" said Hermione jerking his wrist to see what time it was. "Well," she said sourly, "it felt like three hours."

"Oh don't pout. You get to ride in a cab the rest of the way there." he said looking around for one.

"The rest of the way where?" asked Hermione trying to get some information out of him.

"Never mind that." he said hailing a cab. The cab screeched to a stop and they got in. 

"Where to?" asked the man in French. Hermione has studied the language at the school she went to before Hogwarts. Draco however, seemed to be an expert. After telling the driver where to go he kept up a lively conversation all the way there. Hermione sat back and listened to their mindless chatter. Her ears perked up as she heard herself being mentioned.

"Is she your lady?" asked the cab driver nodding his head to her but still keeping his eyes on the road.

"No we're just friends." answered Hermione quickly in a perfect accent. Draco looked at her in surprise and the cab driver laughed.

"Are you sure? You'd look like a might fine couple." he said turning around to smile at Hermione. She noticed for a split second his perfectly straight and white teeth before she realized he wasn't looking where he was going. Horns blared and the driver turned around quickly. They swerved back to their side of the road and Hermione grabbed Draco's forearm. 

"Oy, watch where you're going will ya?" said Draco angrily. 

"Alright alright." the rest of the ride was silent. Hermione looked out her window and watched the scenery. She glanced over at Draco who was staring off into space and rubbing his arm. Hermione felt terror seize her. She reached over quickly and grabbed Draco's arm and pushed up his sleeve. She signed in relief when all she saw was the red marks left from when she grabbed him. He looked at her strangely as Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. 

"What was that all about?" he said jerking his arm back.

"Uhh…nothing. I just thought maybe I had hurt you." she stammered. 

"You? Hurt me? That's ridiculous. Although you do have a very strong grip for a girl." he smirked. Hermione faked a smile and turned back to her window. 

"Hermione, look." said Draco swiping the air trying to tap Hermione on the arm. Hermione leaned over and looked out of his window.

"The Eiffel Tower, possibly one of my most favorite places in the world." said Draco staring up at the magnificent structure. Hermione stared hard at him for a moment then turned her attention back to her surroundings.

"Where are we going first?" she said.

"Right here," he said as the cab slowed to a stop outside of a museum. Hermione climbed out and stood next to him. "Come on," he said leading her into the building.

They spent the rest of the day looking at various paintings and works of art. Hermione turned the corner and exhaled quickly. Draco turned the sharply and ran into Hermione who had stopped in her tracks. 

"Draco," she said breathlessly. Draco stepped out from behind her and saw what had made her stop. He walked up to the painting and looked over every detail of it. It was of a woman and her lover. The woman was dressed in long white robes and had long, brown hair and seemed to have a mysterious glow surrounding her. Her lover stood beside her, gazing into her eyes obviously enraptured and in love. But there was something different about him. He didn't seem to have the glow that his lover had and was wearing black robes.

"You know there's a story behind this painting." Draco turned around and saw that the person wasn't talking to him but rather Hermione who was looking at the man with interest. 

"Really?" she asked her eyes shining with curiosity. 

"Yes. Notice how the woman is bathed in a gold light? Well she represents goodness. The man if you look very closely seems to have a black aura around him. He is evil. But he has fallen madly in love with this woman, despite their differences. And she rescues him from all that is bad." Draco walked over to him.

"Interesting story," said Draco coming over to stand beside Hermione. The man looked sharply at him, failing to conceal his surprise. Hermione smiled up at him. 

"Isn't it? How romantic! She saves him from everything he is." she said dreamily. 

"Romantic? Sort of ironic I think. What if he didn't want to be saved?" said Draco grinning at her.

"He did." she said defensively. 

"How do you know that?" he asked his smile getting bigger.

"I just do. But you do realize that you will never win this argument? Because I WILL have last say." she said giggling.

"No you won't Miss Know-It-All" 

"Yes I will."

"No you won't." They kept at it totally forgetting that the man was still watching them with interest. 

'I know I've seen this boy before. They're both defiantly not Muggles. Could that be the famous Draco Malfoy? What I wouldn't give to give his father a swift kick in the------"

"Yes I will!"

"No you won't." 

'I figured this boy would just be another one of Voldemort's supporters. But what is this boy doing with this girl? Perhaps……..perhaps there's more truth to this story than we thought.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I'm sooooo sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time! I'm so disappointed in myself! *Slaps herself on the hand. Bad Cadence!* I took a long time because I seem to have the dreaded writers block! I didn't realize it until now but that's exactly what I have. I just seem to have written myself into a corner! But I can always write myself back out of it. Hehe. I hope you all will forgive me. Like I said I'm very sorry for not updating so soon! Got to go though….lots of homework to do! Lol….my life is sooooo much fun.


	15. The Carpet Ride and Harry's Advice

A/N-Omg! I am soooo sorry for not updating! My life has been totally helter-skelter! Excuses are like butts...everyone has them and they all stink! But maybe you'll forgive me see I have a boyfriend and he's 20 *and I'm 15* so that's a big problem with my family. Lot of drama let me tell you. My best friend betrayed me, my dog and my fish died *my cat is about to too* and I failed math. Oh and I'm grounded from the computer so that's a major one too! Plus I have a major case of writers block. Add that to being extremely depressed and sad all the time and my mom kept deleting everything on my computer. So I had to keep re-writing the beginning of the chapter each time and after the last time I just didn't do it. And every time I heard Christina Aguilera's song Beautiful on the radio I'm reminded of my story. I'm going to put a new song in the next chapter I don't know which one. But its a really good song and the group is from Arkansas which is pretty cool. It's a really powerful song and it reminds me a lot of Draco. I feel like writing a lot of mush so I'm hoping and praying this chapter doesn't turn out too mushy for the sake of all you people who are reading this. Well enough about me...let's talk about Hermione :D. I got the 5th Harry Potter book and read it in about 2 days. And I must say it was excellent! But the good thing is that we found out why Voldemort wants to kill Harry. And I think I can wrap that around my story. I was sort of afraid that the fifth book would come and my story would be all messed up but I think I can manage. :D Btw. In the 5th book the guys couldn't get into the girls room because of the slide and in one of my chapters the guys went to the girls room and played a prank. So I ask you guys to just look that over.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"May I get you anything else?" said the waiter, pouring them refills

"No, thank you," answered Draco. Hermione still had food in her mouth that she swallowed with apparent relish. The waiter walked away to check on the next table.

"Draco this is way better than the present I got you! This restaurant is amazing! Actually the whole day has been amazing!" She said, her eyes becoming unfocused as she recalled everything that they had done that day. Draco beamed.

'Now I see why they say it's better to give than receive,' he thought as he watched Hermione who seemed to be having the time of her life. He looked down at his watch and noticed it was time to go.

"We better get a move on it if you want to make it back to the castle in time for the feast." leaving a generous tip, they stood up and headed out. They hailed a cab and set off in direction opposite to the way they had came.

"Draco, we're going the wrong way." said Hermione looking around her to make sure.

"No we're not. This is the way I want to go." he said smiling mischievously. They continued to walk as the buildings got sparser. Hermione kept following as Draco pushed aside some low-hanging branches and they entered some type of hidden oasis. Hermione gasped, "Draco, what's this all about?" Draco put a finger to his lips as to indicate for her to be quiet. Hermione obliged and took the chance to take a quick look around. There were exotic plants everywhere that even she couldn't name. Draco led her to a waterfall and took out his wand. Hermione watched as he drew his initials in curvy letters on the blank wall beside it. The water pouring down the cliff froze in mid-air and separated, a crude, hollow pathway lit by torches was reveled. Draco took Hermione's hand and led her down the hallway until they came to a door. 

Draco knocked on the door twice and the door opened to revel a tall man with waist-long curly brown hair and mustache that obscured most of his face. Hermione was sure she wouldn't be able to tell where his eyes were if it weren't for the large sunglasses he was wearing. Hermione tried to catch Draco's eye but the hippie had already started to greet Draco with a big hug. 

"Draco, haven't seen you round here lately. Well, don't just stand there, come on inside!" he said, opening the door wider and allowing them inside. The room was full of smoke and smelled of incense, a purple cushion was the only furniture in the room. "So what can I do ya for?" asked the hippie. Draco lapsed into a coughing fit from all the smoke in the room. After he finished he said very mysteriously, "Actually, I was hoping you could give me and my friend one of your special rides." Hermione was thoroughly confused but the hippie clapped his hands and said all-knowingly, "One of my special rides? Of course! Anything for you and your chick." Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt but the hippie cut her off. "Follow me!" he clapped his hands twice and the lights dimmed. "Oops. I always forget." he clapped his hands again and the lights came back on. "Oh yes," he said after thinking for a moment, he walked over to the wall beside his cushion "Open sesame," The wall slid open and they were met with yet another passageway. This one seemed incline and Hermione's legs were soon aching. Soon they came to a halt and one-by-one each climbed up a ladder. Hermione was met with a blast of cold air. 

"Well here you are mate. My very best rug." He said taking out a rolled up carpet and unrolling it as he spoke. It floated in mid-air. 

"A magic carpet? But isn't that----" said Hermione in awe.

"Illegal? Why yes." said Draco unworriedly.

"Draco, your chick isn't gonna rat me out is she?" asked the hippie who was now eyeing Hermione with suspicion. Hermione opened her mouth to speak but was cut off again.

"Well, I must admit she is a little uptight about breaking rules and laws but I was hoping that in this case she would make an exception." he said finishing with his now trademark puppy-dog eyes.

"Hey don't be worried. I haven't got caught yet. I've got a couple special spells I use to protect my little "business." said the hippie with a mischievous grin on his face that could've rivaled Fred and George Weasley.

"Really? What sort of---," asked Hermione keenly.

"Never mind that now. Do you want to go or not? I would've told you sooner about this but I really wanted to surprise you." Hermione glanced at the two and got the feeling that no matter what she said, she was gonna end up going for a ride anyway. Reluctantly, she gave in.

"Oh alright. But if I get in trouble its gonna be your head on a platter." although she smiled as she said it.

"Okay then. Just hop on!" Draco exchanged some gold with the hippie and helped Hermione onto the floating rug. After they were both on the carpet the hippie clapped his hands. Nothing happened. "Oh yea. Man I gotta do something about this short-term memory loss." he snapped his fingers and they were off.

The scenery was beautiful and even though it was December, Hermione couldn't feel the cold air hitting her exposed skin. Actually it was quiet warm.

"Draco this is so amazing! I don't think I can make it up to you." 

"Don't even think about it! This is a gift and you don't owe me anything. So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride." said Draco with his adorable grin.

"Well, thanks anyway." said Hermione reaching up and giving him a peck on the cheek. Draco flushed as he thought to himself,

'Yup, giving does have its perks.'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione arrived at the common room later than she expected and was greeted by a rush of questions from Harry and Ron.

"Where were you Hermione? We went to give you your present and you weren't there! We waited around all afternoon and you never showed up." asked Ron. Hermione took her time and went and sat by a chair near the fire.

"Well Draco was giving me his present and it took a little longer than I expected." said Hermione, purposely being vague. Her mind was still thinking about how Draco's face had turned red when she had kissed his cheek. 'What does that mean? Does he like me? Why am I asking myself this?' 

"Earth to Hermione!" said Harry, laughing slightly as he snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Oh yea. Hey I still haven't given you guys your presents! I'll be right back!" she said purposely dashing off to her room before they could ask any more questions. She ran to her room grabbed the gifts and headed back to the common room.

"Here you are. Merry Christmas." she said as she handed the boys her gifts and they handed her theirs. Ron had gotten her some perfume and Harry had gotten her a pair of round earrings that change colors and there was a chorus of 'thanks'''

"So Hermione, what happened on your date with Malfoy?" asked Ron without the slightest trace of anger.

"It wasn't a date. And what are you so happy about?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," he said quickly, his ears turning red. Harry started grinning.

"He's got a pretty hot date himself next Hogsmeade trip."

"With who Icle Ronnykins?" teased Hermione, glad to have the attention diverted from her.

"Chyler," he said turning red but grinning nonetheless. "She asked me at the dance."

"Ron, you little player you!" said Hermione nudging him in his ribs.

"Oh shut up." he said turning even redder. "Pick on Harry. He's got a date too."

"So do I," said Hermione with a grin.

"With who?" asked Ron and Harry at the same time. Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"Landon asked me to spend the day with him." she said yet again being vague.

"And you call me the 'player'" snickered Ron.

"Never mind that. Who are you spending the day with Harry?" asked Hermione keenly.

"Adrian," he said simply.

"That foul girl? What are you doing dating her?" asked Hermione in a high-pitched voice.

"Well she asked me out and I said yes. Besides what has she ever done to you? She seemed perfectly nice to me." asked Harry with a trace of surprise in his voice.

"Well yea she would, after all she likes you. Being mean to someone isn't the most attractive thing to do when you want to go out on a date with them." she said grinning faintly.

"Well I dunno," said Harry slowly. "After all Malfoy used to be your mortal enemy and now your off gallivanting around with him all Christmas day!"

"There's Chyler, I'm gonna go talk to her." said Ron running his fingers through his hair quickly and setting off. Hermione giggled and Harry watched her with interest.

"Hermione," he said slowly.

"Harry," said Hermione with a giggle but stopped short when she saw the look of utmost seriousness on his face.

"I just want to make sure that your careful." he said, still talking to her as if she was a five year old instead of seventeen.

"Careful?" said Hermione thoroughly puzzled.

"With Malfoy," said Harry as though that explained everything.

"What do you mean?" 

"It's just that you seem to be spending a lot of time with him. I mean we hardly ever talk anymore. And you seem to actually enjoy being with him." said Harry as though he was afraid that Hermione was gonna explode if he offended her too much. "Ron and I were talking just before you came in and well....we think that you actually like him...you know...as more than friend."

"Wha-" Hermione flustered. Harry cut her off.

"It may not be true Hermione, but I'm just asking you to watch your back. He's dangerous. I mean for crap's sake he's gonna be a bloody death eater someday! I know your living with him and you two actually seem to get along but keep in mind that this could all be an act. He may not have your best interests at heart."

"Harry don't worry. I'm smart and I can protect myself." she said smiling in a self-assured way.

"I know but it could be that he's out to hurt you in a way other than physically." said Harry talking in his slow way again.

"What? You think he's gonna make me fall in love and then break my heart?" snorted Hermione. "Oh please Harry. Have you been watching soap operas during the summer with your muggles?"

"Hermione," said Harry, this time there was no sign of the patience he had earlier. "I'm serious. Just do me a favor and watch your back. I don't care if he has been nicer lately, it's still the same old Malfoy that we've known since first year." Hermione looked into his eyes and could see a mixture of pleading, love *the friendly kind* and the always constant sadness that seemed to haunt his eyes permanently. She caved and reluctantly agreed.

"Thanks, you know I'm just looking after you right?" asked Harry hopefully.

"Yea I suppose. Just...just don't underestimate me. I can handle Dr--Malfoy." she said faking a smile and standing up. "Well I think I'm gonna go find Landon and Chyler and give them their presents."

'Why does everyone seem to think that I've fallen in love with Malfoy? I mean sure it's great that we get along pretty good now but I'm not in LOVE with him.' she reached her room and pulled out the two presents from under her bed and set off to find the twins.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N- I bet all my usual reviewers aren't even around it's been so long since I've updated. There is so much that I want to get into this story. My head is buzzing and I don't know exactly how to put everything in but I figure I'll figure everything out soon. I'm grounded from the internet and I have to sneak on when my parents aren't here just to post this so THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED!!! I truly appreciate it! P.S. My boyfriend is supposed to be getting me a puppy :D Does anybody have any suggestions for a name? I want something cute, cool, original, and meaningful. Yes I have high expectations lol. Well I'm off to go antique someone. hehe I dunno if ya'll will get that but hey if you don't its okay just as long as you understand I have a weird *sometimes sick and demented* sense of humor.


End file.
